/  -**  LJ 


3  9090  013  408  733 


Webster  Family  Library  of  Veterinary  Medicine 
Cummlngs  Sehooi  of  Veterinary  Medicine  at 
Tufts  Uriiversity 
200  Westboro  Road 
Worth  Grafton.  MA  01536 


4* 


THE 


LADY'S  EQUESTRIAN  MANUAL, 


THE  PEINCIPLES  AND  PEACTICE 


Jfofsety^sfyipfoi*  J^dieg 


ARE   THOROUGHLY  EXPLAINED,   TO   ENABLE   EVERY  LADY 
TO   RIDE    WITH   COMFORT  AND   ELEGANCE. 


ttf)    jFifta   Illustrations. 


WILLIS  P.  HAZARD,  178  CHESTNUT  STREET, 
PHILADELPHIA. 

1854. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1854,  by 
WILLIS    P.    HAZARD, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  Dis- 
trict of  Pennsylvania. 


Kite    &   W  alto  if, 
Printers. 


fioijfciijfg. 


PAGE 


Introduction..., 9 

Equestrian  Technicalities 25 

The  Lady's  Horse 28 

Personal  Equipments 34 

Accoutrements  for  the  Horse 36 

The  Saddle 37 

The  Bridle 41 

The  Stirrup 45 

Rules  of  the  Road 47 

Mounting 50 

Dismounting 56 

The  Curb,  Etc.... 60 

Mode  of  Holding  the  Reins 60 

Shifting  the  Reins 61 

Separating  the  Reins 63 

Changing  the  Reins 64 

Adjusting  the  Reins 65 

Position  of  the  Hand 66 

Management  of  the  Curb 67 

The  Reins 69 

The  Seat  and  Balance • ^ 

(iii) 


IV 


Contents 


PAGE 

The  Hand 81 

Qualities  of  the  Hand 85 

Aids  and  Defences 90 

Soothings,  Animations,  Etc 94 

Corrections 97 

Vices , 100 

Exercises  in  the  Paces 113 

The  Walk 118 

The  Trot 125 

The  Canter 130 

Turns,  Stops,  Etc.,  in  the  Gallop 136 

The  Gallop 139 

Stopping  and  Backing 140 

Going  Backward  in  the  Walk 142 

Leaping 146 

Concluding  Remarks ,. 150 


£i*ef^ce« 


Though  riding  on  horseback  seems  only  of  late 
to  have  become  the  most  fashionable  exercise  of 
ladies,  it  has  very  long  been  sufficiently  so  to  war- 
rant the  publication  of  a  useful  work  on  the  sub- 
ject ;  and  it  is  surprising  that  none  should  have 
appeared.  Indeed,  the  difficulties  and  the  delica- 
cies which  attend  the  practice  of  riding,  in  ladies, 
have  long  appeared  to  the  writer  to  render  such  a 
work  more  necessary  for  them,  than  for  gentle- 
men. 

1*  (5) 


6  Preface. 

Such  were  the  motives  which  led  to  the  produc- 
tion of  the  present  volume,  in  which  the  chief  la- 
bor of  the  author  has  been  to  concentrate  in  the 
smallest  space  everything  really  useful  to  ladies 
on  the  subject  of  riding,  to  express  this  in  simple 
and  intelligible  language,  and  to  give  the  whole  a 
systematic  and  impressive  arrangement. 

He  accordingly  flatters  himself,  that,  at  a  time 
when  riding  has  become  so  eminently  fashionable 
an  exercise  for  ladies,  and  when  the  road  daily 
displays  so  many  elegant  women  on  horseback,  his 
work  will  ensure  security,  ease,  and  grace  of  the 
riders. 

In  addition  to  the  experience  of  the  author  as  a 
teacher,  he  has  not  hesitated  to  derive  valuable 
knowledge  from  numerous  friends,  who  have  kindly 
imparted  many  hints  which  he  has  embodied,  and 
which  will  prove  of  great  value  to  his  readers,  but 
also  he  has  extracted  from  all  the  best  treatises 
ever  published  upon  the  subject,  all  that  was  at 
all  likely  to  be  of  any  use.     Many  of  his  fair 


Preface.  7 

friends  have  also  spoken  to  him  of  just  what  they 
would  have  liked  to  have  had  some  written  instruc- 
tions upon,  but  which  they  were  never  able  to  find 
in  books  upon  the  subject,  when  they  were  learn- 
ing. Therefore  knowing  what  was  wanted,  and 
believing  that  he  possessed  the  knowledge  requisite 
to  fill  that  want,  he  with  the  more  confidence 
offers  this  volume  to  that  portion  of  the  public 
for  whom  it  is  intended,  in  the  belief  that  with 
proper  attention  to  its  directions,  no  lady  need 
take  lessons  of  a  riding-master,  for  here  she  will 
find  all  he  can  teach  her;  and  also  that  ladies 
who  have  taken  lessons,  may  find  much  that  will 
assist  them  to  become  practical  and  expert  horse- 
women. 

Those  who  have  the  time  and  the  money  to 
spare  may  well  take  a  few  general  lessons  from  a 
teacher ;  but  to  the  many  who  have  neither,  yet 
wish  to  be  able  to  ride  with  comfort  and  elegance, 
and  particularly  to  those  in  the  country,  and  small 
towns,  where  the  lessons  of  a  teacher  are  not  to 


8 


Preface. 


be  had,  yet  where  it  is  a  necessary  accomplish- 
ment, this  volume  must  undoubtedly  prove  a  wel- 
come addition. 


THE 


y  o  11 1)  g    JL  n  d  I) '  s 
EdUESTRIAN  MANUAL. 


Our  Virgin  Queen,  peerless  Elizabeth, 
With  grace  and  dignity  rode  through  the  host : 
And  proudly  paced  that  gallant  steed,  as  though 
He  knew  his  saddle  was  a  royal  throne. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Riding  on  Horseback  is,  confessedly,  one  of  the 
most  graceful,  agreeable,  and  salutary  of  feminine 
recreations.  No  attitude,  perhaps,  can  be  re- 
garded as  more  elegant  than  that  of  a  lady  in  the 
modern   side -saddle;    nor   can   any   exercise   be 

(9) 


10  Introduction. 

deemed  capable  of  affording  more  rational  and 
innocent  delight,  than  that  of  the  female  eques- 
trian.    Pursued  in  the  open  air,  it  affords  a  most 
rapid,  and,  at  the  same  time,  exhilarating  succes- 
sion of  scenic   changes,  at  a  degree  of  personal 
exertion,  sufficient  to  produce  immediate  pleasure, 
without  inducing  the  subsequent  languor  of  fatigue. 
Nor  is  riding  on  horseback  attended  with  that 
danger  to  ladies,  attributed  to  it  by  the  indolent, 
the  melancholy,   and  the   timid.     Accidents,  in- 
deed, in  the  side-saddle,   are  of  extremely  rare 
occurrence.     Strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  is,  how- 
ever, an  incontrovertible  fact,  that  horses,  in  gene- 
ral, are  much  more   docile  and  temperate,  with 
riders  of  the  fair  sex,  than  when  mounted  by  men. 
This  may  be    attributed,  partially,  to  the   more 
backward  position,  in  the  saddle,  of  the  former 
than  the  latter ;  but,  principally,  perhaps,  to  their 
superior  delicacy  of  hand  in  managing  the  reins. 

As  an  active  recreation,  and  a  mode  of  convey- 
ance, riding  on  horseback  appears  to  have  been  of 
very  remote  usage  among  our  fair  countrywomen. 
During  a  long  period,  indeed,  it  was  the  only  one 
known  to,  or  adopted  by  them,  for  the  performance 
of  journeys.  Such,  too,  appears  to  have  been  the 
case  (with  some  modifications)  in  other  European 
countries.     The  only  voiture  of  the  French,  says 


Introduction.  11 

Garsault,  until  the  reign  of  Charles  the  sixth,  was 
the  back  of  the  horse  or  mule;  neither  kings, 
queens,  princes,  nor  subjects  were  acquainted  with 
any  other.  In  the  time  of  that  monarch,  litters, 
borne  by  two  horses,  first  appeared;  but  these 
were  uncovered,  and  used,  only,  by  ladies  of  the 
court.  Froissart  describes  Isabel,  the  second  wife 
of  Richard  the  second  of  England,  as  having  been 
borne  "en  une  litiere  moult  riehe,  qui  etoit  or- 
donnee  pour  elle  ;"  and  this  kind  of  vehicle,  during 
the  reigns  of  several  succeeding  monarchs,  appears 
to  have  been  used  by  women  of  distinction  in  this 
country,  but,  only,  it  is  to  be  observed,  in  cases  of 
illness,  or  on  occasions  of  ceremony.  For  ex- 
ample,— when  Margaret,  daughter  of  Henry  the 
seventh,  went  into  Scotland,  she  generally  rode 
"a  faire  palfrey;"  while,  after  her,  was  conveyed 
"  one  vary  riche  litere,  borne  by  two  faire  coursers, 
vary  nobly  drest;  in  the  which  litere  the  sayd 
queene  was  borne  in  the  intrying  of  the  good 
townes,  or  otherwise,  to  her  good  playsher." 

Towards  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  ve- 
hicles with  wheels,  for  the  use  of  ladies,  were  first 
introduced.  They  appear  to  have  been  of  Italian 
origin,  as  the  first  notice  of  them  is  found  in  an 
account  of  the  entry  of  Charles  of  Anjou  into 
Naples ;  on  which  occasion,  we  are  told,  his  queen 


12  Introduction. 

rode  in  a  careta,  the  outside  and  inside  of  which 
were  covered  with  sky-blue  velvet,  interspersed 
with  golden  lilies.  Under  the  Gallicised  denomi- 
nation of  char,  the  Italian  car  eta,  shortly-  after- 
wards became  known  in  France ;  where,  so  early 
as  the  year  1294,  an  ordinance  was  issued  by 
Philip  the  Fair,  forbidding  its  use  to  citizens' 
wives.  Nor  was  England  far  behind  in  the  adop- 
tion of  the  vehicle ;  for,  in  "  The  Squyr  of  Low 
Degree,"  a  poem  supposed  to  have  been  written 
anterior  to  the  time  of  Chaucer,  we  find  the  father 
of  a  royal  lady  promising  that  she  shall  hunt  with 
him,  on  the  morrow,  in  "  a  chare,'"  drawn  by 

"  Jennettes  of  Spain  that  ben  so  white, 
Trapped  to  the  ground  with  velvet  bright." 

"  It  shall  be  covered  with  velvet  red, 
And  clothes  of  fine  gold  all  about  your  head; 
With  damask  white  and  azure  blue, 
Well  diapered  with  lilies  blue." 

However  richly  ornamented,  the  careta,  char,  or 
chare — and  there  is  little,  if  any,  doubt,  to  be 
entertained  as  to  their  identity — may  have  been, 
it  was,  probably,  a  clumsy,  inelegant,  and  incon- 
venient structure ;  for  its  employment  appears  to 
have  been  far  from  general  among  high-born  ladies, 
even  on  occasions  of  ceremony  and  pomp.  During 
the  fourteenth,  fifteenth,  and  sixteenth  centuries, 


Introduction.  13 

the  French  princesses  usually  rode  on  donkeys ; 
and  so  late  as  the  year  1534,  a  sacred  festival  was 
attended  by  Queen  Eleonora,  and  the  females  of 
the  blood  royal  of  France,  on  horseback.  Nor 
did  the  superior  and  more  recent  invention  of 
coaches,  for  a  long  period,  tend  materially  to 
supersede,  among  ladies,  the  use  of  the  saddle. 
These  vehicles,  according  to  Stow,  became  known, 
in  England,  in  1580  ;  but,  many  years  after,  Queen 
Elizabeth  herself  is  described  as  having  appeared, 
almost  daily,  on  her  palfrey.  In  the  time  of 
Charles  the  second,  the  fashion,  among  ladies,  of 
riding  on  horseback,  declined ;  during  subsequent 
reigns,  it  gradually  revived ;  and  the  exercise  may 
now  be  regarded  as  firmly  established,  among  our 
fair  countrywomen,  by  the  august  example  of  their 
illustrious  Queen. 

The  present  graceful,  secure,  and  appropriate 
style  of  female  equestrianism  is,  however,  mate- 
rially different  from  that  of  the  olden  time.  In 
by-gone  days  the  dame  or  damosel  rode  precisely 
as  the  knight  or  page.  Of  this,  several  illustra- 
tions occur  in  an  illuminated  manuscript  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  preserved  in  the  Royal  Li- 
brary. In  one  of  these,  a  lady  of  that  period  is 
depicted  on  horseback,  enjoying  the  pastime  of 
the  chase.  In  another,  are  represented  two  gentle- 
2  I 


14 


Introduction 


women  of  the  same  period,  on  horseback,  with  an 
individual  of  the  other  sex,  engaged  (as  is  shown 
by  some  parts  of  the  design,  which  it  would  be 
needless,  for  our  present  purpose,  to  copy)  in  the 
once  much-favored  diversion  of  hawking. 


Introduction.  15 

Queen  Elizabeth,  says  a  writer  in  the  Encyclo- 
paedia Londinensis,  "  seems  to  have  been  the  first 
who  set  the  ladies  the  more  modest  fashion  of 
riding  sideways.  Considerable  opposition  was,  at 
first,  made  to  it,  as  inconvenient  and  dangerous : 
but,  practice,  in  time,  brought  it  into  general  use ; 
particularly  when  ladies  found  they  could  ride 
a-hunting,  take  flying  leaps,  and  gallop  over  cross 
roads  and  ploughed  fields,  without  meeting  with 
more  accidents  than  the  men :  besides,  it  was  not 
only  allowed  to  be  more  decorous,  but,  in  many 
respects,  more  congenial  to  the  ease  and  comfort 
of  a  female  rider." 

Our  author  is,  however,  wrong  in  ascribing 
the  fashion  of  riding  sideways,  by  women  in  this 
country,  to  Elizabeth ;  by  whom  it  could  only  have 
been  confirmed,  or,  at  the  most,  revived; — the 
honor  of  its  introduction  being  clearly  attribu- 
table to  another  Queen  of  England,  who  lived  at 
a  much  more  early  period  of  our  history. 

Ann  of  Bohemia,  consort  of  Richard  the  second, 
is  the  illustrious  personage  to  whom  we  allude. 
She,  it  was,  according  to  Stow  (whom  Beckman 
follows  on  this  point,)  that  originally  showed  the 
women  of  this  country  how  gracefully  and  conve- 
niently they  might  ride  on  horseback  sideways. 
Another  old  historian,  enumerating  the  new  fashions 


16  Introduction. 

of  Richard  the  second's  reign,  observes,  "Likewise, 
noble  ladies  then  used  high  heads  and  cornets,  and 
robes  with  long  trains,  and  seats,  or  side-saddles, 
on  their  horses,  by  the  example  of  the  respectable 
Queen  Ann,   daughter  of  the  King  of  Bohemia, 
who  first  introduced  the  custom  into  this  kingdom : 
for,  before,  women  of  every  rank  rode  as  men  do." 
(T.  Rossn,  Hist.  Be.  Aug.  p.  205.)     In  his  beau- 
ful  illustrative   picture  of   Chaucer's  Canterbury 
Pilgrims,  Stothard  appears  to  have  committed  an 
anachorism,  in  placing  the  most  conspicuous  female 
character  of  his  fine  composition  sideways  on  her 
steed.     That  the  lady  should  have  been  depicted 
riding  in  the  male  fashion,  might,  it  strikes  us, 
have  been  inferred,  without  any  historical  research 
on  the  subject,  from  the  poet's  describing  her  as 
having,  on  her  feet, 

"  A  -paire  of  spurres  sharpe." 

Neither  the  original  example  of  Ann  of  Bohemia, 
nor  that,  in  later  days,  of  Elizabeth,  as  female 
equestrians,  however  extensively  followed,  had 
sufficient  force,  entirely  to  abolish,  among  our 
countrywomen,  the  mode  of  riding  like  the  other 
sex.  In  the  time  of  Charles  the  second,  it  ap- 
pears, from  a  passage  in  the  Duke  of  Newcastle's 
great  work  on  Horsemanship,  to  have  still,  at  least 


Introduction. 


17 


partially,  subsisted.  Another  writer  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  whose  manuscripts  are  preserved 
in  the  Harleian  collection,  speaks  of  it,  as  having 
been  practised,  in  his  time,  by  the  ladies  of  Bury, 
in  Suffolk,  when  hunting  or  hawking;  and  our 
venerable  contemporary,  Lawrence  (a  voluminous 
writer  on  the  horse,)  it  is  worthy  of  remark,  states, 
that  at  an  early  period  of  his  own  life,  two  young 
ladies  of  good  family,  then  residing  near  Ipswich, 
in  the  same  county,  "were  in  the  constant  habit 
of  riding  about  the  country,  in  their  smart  doe- 
skins, great  coats,  and  napped  beaver  hats." 

Although  entirely  relinquished,  at  present,  per- 
haps, in  this  country,  the  mode  of  female  eques- 
trianism under  notice  continues  to  prevail  in  va- 
rious other   localities.     In   the  following  sketch, 


taken  from  Charles  Audry's  magnificent  "Ecole 
2*  B 


18 


Introduction 


d'  Equitation,"  a  Persian  lady  is  delineated  as  just 
about  to  start  on  a  journey,  in  the  saddle ;  and, 
in  the  next,  which  is  engraved  from  an  original 
drawing,  "done  from  the  life,"  a  lady  and  gentle- 
man of  Lima  are  represented  on  horseback.  "  I 
have  endeavored,"  the  artist  says,  in  manuscript, 
on  the  reverse  of  his  sketch,  "  to  depict  the  horses 
'pacing ;  as  they  are  almost  universally  taught 
to  do,  in  Peru :  that  is,  to  move  both  the  legs,  of 
one  side,  forward  together.  It  resembles  an  Eng- 
lish butcher's  trot  in  appearance  ;  but,  it  is  so  easy, 
that  one  might  go  to  sleep  on  the  horse :  and, 
after  riding  'spacer,  it  is  difficult  to  sit  a  trotter 


at  first.  It  is,  also,  excessively  rapid ;— good 
pacers  beating  other  horses  at  a  gallop.  The 
ladies  of  Lima  do  not  always  ride  with  the  face 


Introduction. 


19 


covered:  but,  only,  when  the  sun  is  powerful. 
They,  sometimes,  ride  in  ponchos,  like  the  men : 
in  fact,  it  is  exceedingly  difficult,  at  first  sight,  to 
determine  whether  a  person  on  horseback  be  male 
or  female." 

The  side-saddle  introduced  to  this  country  by 
Ann  of  Bohemia,  differed,  materially,  from  that 
now  used  by  British  ladies ;  having,  no  doubt, 
been  a  mere  pillion,  on  which  the  rider  sate,  as  in 
a  chair. 


At  what  period  our  fair  countrywomen  first 
began  to  ride  with  the  knee  over  the  pommel,  we 
are  not  enabled  to  state :  it  is,  however,  clear,  ac- 
cording to  the  original  of  the  following  sketch,  which 
occurs  in  one  of  the  historical  illustrations  of  eques- 
trianism, given  by  Audry,  that  the  courtly  dames 
of  England  did  so,  about  the  middle  of  the  seven- 


20 


Introduction 


teenth.  century.     Our  author  describes  the  figure 
as  being  that  of  the  Countess  of  Newcastle. 


It  may  be  conjectured,  that  a  single  crutch, 
only,  for  the  advanced  leg,  was  at  first  used ;  and 
this,  it  is  not  improbable,  was  fixed  on  the  centre 
of  the  pommel,  as  in  the  lady's  saddle,  now,  or  at 
least  very  lately,  common  in  some  parts  of  Mexico ; 
where  the  women,  it  would  seem,  ride  with  the  left 
hand  towards  the  animal's  head.  This,  also,  ap- 
pears to  have  been,  sometimes,  the  case,  down  to  a 
recent  period,  in  our  own  country ;  for,  in  rather 
a  modern  description  of  the  side-saddle,  the 
crutches  are  spoken  of  as  being  movable,  in  order 
to  afford  a  lady,  by  merely  changing  their  relative 
positions,  the  means  of  ridiig,  as  she  might  please, 


Introduction.  21 

on  either  side  of  her  horse.  That  a  second 
crutch  was  used  about  the  middle  of  the  last  cen- 
tury (we  are  unable  to  state  how  much  earlier,)  in 
France,  at  least,  is  evident  from  a  plate  of  the 
lady's  hunting  saddle,  at  that  period,  given  by 
Garsault ;  in  which,  it  is  curious,  a  sort  of  hold- 
fast is  provided  for  the  fair  equestrian's  right 
hand.  But,  even  so  recently  as  Garsault's  time, 
the  saddle  in  ordinary  use,  by  French  women,  was, 
we  learn  from  his  work  on  equitation,  still,  a  kind 
of  pillion,  on  which  the  rider  sate,  diagonally,  with 
both  feet  resting  on  a  broad  suspended  ledge  or 
stirrup.     The  pillion  in  this  country  has  not  yet 


become  obsolete ;  being  still,  frequently,  to  be  seen, 
on  the  backs  of  donkeys  and  hack  poneys,  at 
watering  places.  During  the  early  part  of  the 
present  century,  its  employment  continued  to  be 


22  Introduction. 

general.  It  was  fixed  behind  a  man's  saddle,  on 
the  croup  of  a  steady  horse,  trained  to  go  at  an 
easy  though  shuffling  pace  between  a  walk  and  a 
trot.  The  groom,  or  gentleman,  equipped  with  a 
broad  leathern  belt  buckled  about  his  waist — by 
which  the  lady  secured  her  position,  in  case  of 
need — first  mounted ;  and  his  fair  companion  was 
then  lifted,  backwards,  and  behind  him,  into  her 
seat.  In  an  old  work  on  horsemanship,  written 
by  one  William  Stokes,  and  published  at  Oxford, 
it  is  not,  perhaps,  unworthy  of  notice,  directions 
are  given  for.. vaulting  into  the  saddle,  after  the 


lady  has  been  placed  on  the  croup  ;  together  with 
a  plate  illustrative  of  so  exquisitely  nice  and  mar- 
vellously absurd  an  operation.  In  Mexico  "  they 
manage  these  things,"  if  not  "better,"  at  all 
events,  with  more  gallantry,  than  our  forefathers 
did,  for  with  them,  "  the  jpisana,  or  country  lady," 


Introduction.  23 

we  are  told,  "  is  often  seen  mounted  before  her  ca- 
valiero  ;  who,  seated  behind  his  fair  one,  supports 
her  with  his  arm  thrown  around  her  waist."  Our 
illustrative  sketch  of  this  custom  is  taken  from  a 
beautiful  model,— the  work  of  a  native  Mexican 
artist. 


Having,  now,  offered  our  fair  readers  a  slight 
and  unpretending  historical  sketch  of  female 
equestrianism,  we  shall  proceed,  after  a  few  pre- 
liminary remarks,  to  the  practical  details  of  the 
art. 

Its  various  advantages,  inducements,  and  attrac- 
tions, as  an  exercise,  have,  already,  been  noticed. 
Much,  however \  as  we  wish  *  to  interest  our  fair 
countrywomen,  in  its  favor,  it  is  proper,  on  our 
part,  to  tell  them,  frankly,  that  equestrianism 
is  far  from  being  an  intuitive  art: — there  is  no 
"royal  road"  to  it.     To  be  enjoyed  and  appreci- 


24  Introduction. 

ated,  it  must  be  learnt.  That  ease  and  elegance, 
— that  comparative  safety  in  the  side-saddle,  of 
which  we  have  spoken,  it  is  impossible  to  achieve, 
without  considerable  practice,  based  upon  proper 
principles.  Many  young  ladies,  however,  feel  a 
delicate  repugnance  to  passing  through  the  ordeal 
of  a  riding-school ;  some,  again,  do  not  reside  in 
situations,  where  the  benefit  of  a  teacher's  direc- 
tions can  be  procured ;  while  others,  erroneously 
flatter  themselves,  that  they  are  in  possession  of 
every  needful  acquirement,  as  regards  equestrian- 
ism, when  they  have  discovered  how  to  retain  a 
seat  on  the  saddle,  and  guide  a  horse  by  means  of 
the  bridle.  To  such  of  our  readers  as  happen  to 
be  comprised  within  either  of  these  classes, — and 
to  those,  also,  who,  after  having  received  a  pro- 
fessor's instructions,  are  desirous  of  further 
improvement,  the  following  pages,  if  carefully 
perused,  will,  the  writer  most  zealously  hopes, 
prove  beneficial. 


Equestrian   Technicalities.      25 


JqqegfH^ii}    XftefiQioqlifies. 


A  few,  among  the  most  generally  adopted,  of 
these,  it  will  be  expedient,  in  the  first  place,  to 
notice  and  explain. 

Most  parts  in  the  external  structure  of  the 
horse  are  known  by  names  of  obvious  significa- 
tion :  but  such  is  not,  exactly,  the  case  with  all. 


To  commence  with  the  anterior  limb  : — a  is  the 
fore  pastern ;  b,  the  fetlock ;  c,  the  leg ;  and  d, 
the  arm. 

In  the  hind  limb,  e  is  the  hind  pastern ;  /,  the 
hock ;  g,  the  stifle ;  and  hy  the  haunch. 
3 


26      Equestrian    Technicalities. 

The  upper  surface  of  the  neck,  i,  is  denominated 
the  crest ;  Jc,  the  withers,  and  I,  the  croup. 

In  the  bridle,  supposing  it  to  be  double-reined,  a 
is  the  double  head-stall ;  5,  the  front ;  <?,  the  nose- 


Curb  Bit. 


Snaffle  Bit. 


band ;  dy  the  throat-lash ;  e,  e,  the  snaffle  rein ; 

and  /,  /,  the  curb  rein.     At  g,  g,  is  the  martingale. 

In  the  saddle,  a,  is  the  near  crutch ;  b,  the  off 


crutch  ;  e,  the  cantle  ;  d,  the  crupper ;  e,  the  safe ; 
/,  the  skirt ;  g,  the  stirrup ;  h,  the  near  side  half 
of  the  surcingle ;  and  i,  »,  the  girths. 


Equestrian    Technicalities.      27 

A  lady's  right  hand  is  termed  the  wAzp-hand, 
and  her  left,  the  bridle-h.a,n&. 

The  near  side  of  a  horse  is  that  which  is  on  the 
left  of  the  rider ;  and  the  off  side  that  which  is  on 
her  right. 

The  height  of  a  horse  is  always  estimated  in 
hands,  of  four  inches  each :  it  is  always  measured 
at  the  tip  of  the  shoulder.  A  horse  is  never  spoken 
of  as  being  so  many  hands  tall,  but  so  many  hands 
high. 


28  The  Lady's   Horse. 


Xfye  W$'*  ftofse. 


Although  the  lady  usually  has  a  horse  selected 
for  her,  by  some  gentleman,  either  of  her  own 
family  or  her  acquaintance,  it  may  not  be  inexpe- 
dient to  inform  the  fair  reader  of  those  qualities 
which,  combined  in  the  same  animal,  may  be  said 
to  constitute  a  complete  lady's  horse.  Such  a 
creature,  however,  we  must  observe,  is  exceedingly 
difficult  to  be  procured,  even  by  those  possessed 
of'  the  nicest  judgment  on  the  subject ;  and,  to 
whom,  the  usually  important  question  of  price  is 
not  an  object  of  consideration. 

The  beau  ideal  of  this  kind  of  horse  is  superla- 
tively elegant  in  form,  exquisitely  fine  in  coat,  and 
unexceptionably  beautiful  in  color ;  of  a  height, 
in  the  nicest  degree  appropriate  to  the  figure  of 
the  rider ;  graceful,  accurate,  well-united,  and 
thoroughly  safe  in  every  pace ;  "light  as  a  feather" 
in  the  hand,  though  not  at  all  painfully  sensitive 
to  a  proper  action  of  the  bit ;  bold  in  the  extreme, 
yet  superlatively  docile ;  free,  in  every  respect, 
from   what   is   technically   denominated    "vice;" 


The  Lady's  Horse.  29 

excellent  in  temper,  but  still  "  though  gentle,  yet 
not  dull;"  rarely,  if  ever,  requiring  the  stimulus 
of  the  whip,  yet  submitting  temperately  to  its 
occasional  suggestions. 

In  some,  though  not  in  all  respects,  the  form 
should  approach  closely  to  that  of  a  thorough-bred 
animal.  The  head  should  be  small,  neat,  "well- 
set"  on  the  neck,  and  gracefully  "carried."  The 
nostrils  should  be  wide ;  the  eyes  large,  rather 
protruding,  dark,  yet  brilliant ;  the  ears  erect,  and 
delicately  tapering  towards  their  tips.  The  ex- 
pression of  the  countenance  should  be  lively,  ani- 
mated, noble,  and   most   highly  intelligent;    the 


neck  rather  arched  and  muscular;  the  ridge  of 
the  shoulders  narrow  and  elevated ;  the  chest  full 
and  fleshy ;  the  back  broad ;  the  body,  round  or 
barrel-like ;  the  space  between  the  hips  and  tail, 
3* 


30  The  Lady's   Horse. 

long,  and  very  gradually  depressed  towards  the 
latter  organ,  which,  it  is  essential,  should  be  based 
high  on  the  croup.  The  fore  and  hind  limbs  should 
be  distant,  the  one  pair  from  the  other ;  the 
"arms"  muscular;  the  knees  broad,  the  hocks 
(laterally)  wide;  the  legs  flat  and  sinewy;  the 
pasterns  rather  long;  and  the  hoofs  large,  and 
nearly  round. 

A  rough,  or,  what  is  technically  termed,  a 
"staring"  coat,  considerably  deteriorates  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  horse,  however  perfect  in  other  con- 
ditions. Its  surface,  on  a  well-bred,  healthy,  and 
properly  groomed  animal,  is  not  only  smooth,  but 
brilliantly  polished.  The  mane,  if  too  long  and 
thick,  will  interfere  with  that  delicate  management 
of  the  reins  so  desirable  to  a  lady  on  horseback ; 
and  the  tail,  if  of  immoderate  length,  will,  by  the 
animal's  whisking  it  towards  his  sides,  prove  incon- 
venient, to  the  fair  rider,  at  all  times ;  but,  espe- 
cially so,  in  dirty  weather.  Neither  of  these 
appendages,  however,  on  the  other  hand,  should 
be  ungracefully  brief  or  scanty. 

Of  all  colors  presented  by  the  horse,  none  is  so 
rich,  and,  at  the  same  time,  so  elegant  and  chaste, 
as  a  bright  bay;  provided  the  mane,  tail,  and 
lower  parts  of  the  legs,  be  black.  A  small  white 
star  on  the  forehead,  and  a  white  speck  on  one  of 


The  Lady's  Horse.  31 

the  heels,  are  to  be  considered,  rather,  as  beauties, 
than  defects :  but  much  white,  either  on  the  face 
or  legs,  whatever  be  the  general  hue,  is  quite  the 
reverse  of  desirable.  After  bright  bay,  chestnut, 
perhaps,  deserves  to  rank  next  in  the  scale  of  taste ; 
provided  it  be  not,  as  is  very  frequently  the  case, 
accompanied  with  white  legs.  Some  of  the  vari- 
ous shades  of  grey,  however,  are,  in  the  opinion 
of  many,  entitled  to  be  placed  above  it ;  of  these, 
the  silver  grey,  with  black  mane  and  tail,  claims 
the  highest  place  ;  brown  is  rather  exceptionable, 
on  account  of  its  dulness.  Black  is  not  much 
admired  ;  though,  as  we  think,  when  of  a  deep  jet, 
remarkably  elegant.  Roan,  sorrel,  dun,  piebald, 
mouse,  and  even  cream  color  (however  appropriate 
the  latter  may  be  for  a  state  carriage-horse)  are 
all  to  be  eschewed. 

The  height  of  her  horse  should  be  in  harmoni- 
ous proportion  with  that  of  the  rider.  A  very 
young  or  short  lady  is  in  no  less  false  a  position, 
as  regards  grace,  on  a  lofty  steed,  than  a  tall,  full- 
grown  woman,  on  a  diminutive  poney.  For  ladies 
of  the  general  stature,  a  horse  measuring  from 
fifteen  to  fifteen  and  a  half  hands,  at  the  point  of 
the  shoulder,  is  usually  considered,  as  regards 
height,  more  desirable  than  any  other. 

In  paces,  the  lady's  horse  should  be  perfect ;  or, 


32  The  Lady's  Horse. 

at  all  events  so  far  as  regards  the  walk  and  canter. 
The  former  should  be  fast,  bold,  firm,  and  lively, 
without  being  unsteady  ;  and  the  latter,  light,  easy, 
well-combined,  and  graceful :  so,  too,  should  the 
hand-gallop  ;  although,  it  is  true,  a  lady's  horse  is 
rarely  put  to  this  pace,  unless  used  for  the  field. 
The  trot,  again,  is  but  little  practised :  still  the 
complete  lady's  horse  is  expected  to  be  capable  of 
performing  it  with  great  precision  of  step,  and  but 
little  concussion  to  the  rider :  —  many  ladies  re- 
garding it, — however  discountenanced  by  the  ma- 
jority, perhaps, — as  preferable,  from  its  vigor, 
liveliness,  and  dash,  to  any  other  pace. 

To  expatiate  on  the  absolute  necessity  of  the 
lady's  horse  being  safe  on  his  limbs,  would  be  need- 
less. 

The  mouth  should  be  sensible  of  the  most  deli- 
cate hint  of  the  rider's  will,  communicated  to  it  by 
means  of  a  bit.  A  horse  that  pulls  hard,  or  hangs 
heavily  upon  the  reins,  is  very  unsuitable  for  a 
lady's  use :  so,  again,  is  one  having  the  mouth  so 
tender  as  to  suffer  from  moderate  pressure,  either 
by  the  snaffle  or  the  curb.  The  former  is  no  less 
fatiguing  to,  than  the  latter  is  distressed  by,  the 
bridle  hand. 

If,  however,  a  horse  possessed  every  quality 
requisite  for  a  good  horsewoman,  a  lady  of  timid 


The  Lady's   Horse. 


33 


disposition  would  be  so  alarmed  at  the  sprightly 
action  and  delicate  sensibility  of  his  mouth,  that 
she  could  not  forbear  cringing ;  and,  against  this, 
it  is  necessary  to  guard,  for  the  cringing  of  the 
body,  always  to  the  near  side,  and  also  that  of  the 
hand,  makes  the  horse  restless  and  uncomfortable. 


34        Personal  Equipments. 


^eirso^i    £<jt|iptyeii)fs. 


In  the  selection  of  these,  a  lady  ha3  a  fair  op- 
portunity for  the  proper  display  of  a  refined  and 
judicious  taste.  All  that  is  gaudy,  needless,  or 
even  elaborate,  is  vulgar.  Perfect  simplicity,  in- 
deed, as  regards,  not  only  her  own  costume,  but 
"the  trappings  of  her  palfry,"  is  expected,  at  the 
present  day,  on  the  part  of  every  well-bred  female 
equestrian. 

The  habit  should  fit  the  bust,  without  a  crease : 
but  beneath  the  waist,  it  ought  to  be,  not  only  long, 
but,  somewhat  full  and  flowing.  Its  color  should 
be  dark  as  possible,  without  being  positively  black. 

The  hair  should  be  plaited ;  or,  if  otherwise 
dressed,  so  arranged  and  secured,  that  it  may  not 
be  blown  into  the  rider's  eyes ;  nor,  from  exercise, 
or  the  effect  of  humid  weather,  be  liable  to  be  so 
discomposed,  as  to  become  embarrassing. 

To  ride  in  a  bonnet  is  far  from  judicious.  A 
hat,  or  neat  undress  military  cap,  is  indispensable 
to  the  female  equestrian.  It  should  be  secured 
most  carefully  to  the   head :    for,  the  loss  of   it 


Personal  Eq    ipments. 


35 


would  not  merely  be  inconvenient,  but,  perhaps, 
dangerous,  from  the  startling  effect  which  its  fall 
might  produce  on  the  sensitive  temperament  of  the 
horse. 

A  veil  is  the  reverse  of  objectionable,  provided 
it  be  of  moderate  length,  and  safely  tied  to  the 
hat  or  cap ;  which,  it  is  proper  to  state,  should 
have  no  other  ornament  or  appendage. 

The  whip  should  be  exquisitely  neat  and  highly 
finished ;  but  with  little,  if  any  decoration. 


36  Accoutrements  for  the  Horse. 


ftcMiifretyeqta  foir  ftje  Jfoirge. 


Every  accoutrement  for  the  horse,  however 
ornamental  and  pictorial,  beyond  the  mere  saddle 
and  bridle,  is  to  be  rejected,  as  being  in  bad  taste. 
The  crupper  and  breast-band  are  now  almost  obso- 
lete ;  the  saddle-cloth  has  nearly  disappeared ; 
nettings  are,  generally  speaking,  abandoned ;  and 
the  martingale  itself,  valuable  as  it  may  be  for 
horses  of  a  certain  character,  is  rarely  to  be  seen. 


Simplicity,  indeed,  as  regards  female  equestrian- 
ism, is  now  imperatively  (and,  strange  to  say,  most 


ACCOUTREMENTS    FOB,    THE    HORSE.     37 

judiciously)  enjoined,  by  "that  same  fickle  god- 
dess, Fashion,"  in  obedience  to  whose  sovereign 
behest,  a  lady's  horse,  in  the  olden  time,  was  dis- 
guised, as  it  were,  "  in  cloth  of  gold  most  curiously 
wrought." 

THE    SADDLE. 

The  Saddle  must  be  considered  first  with  rela- 
tion to  the  horse,  and  secondly  with  relation  to  the 
rider. 

I.  With  regard  to  the  horse,  the  saddle  prevents 
the  friction  he  would  endure  if  bare-backed,  or  if 
he  had  merely  a  cloth  on ;  and  it  distributes  the 
weight  of  the  rider  to  the  parts  most  capable  of 
bearing  it. 

Without  a  saddle,  the  horse  would  sustain  the 
weight  in  the  middle  and  weakest  part  of  the  back ; 
but  with  a  saddle,  the  rider's  weight  is  distributed, 
as  the  saddle  has  bearings  before  and  behind,  but 
none  in  the  middle. 

Hence  it  is  evident  that  the  saddle  should  be 
proportioned  to  the  size  of  the  horse;  the  bear- 
ings before  being  clear  of  interference  with  the 
plate-bone,  and  not  extending  further  behind  than 
within  four  inches  of  the  hips. 

The  bearing  of  the  saddle  should  be  equal  on 
4 


38  Accoutrements  for  the  Horse. 

every  part  that  it  is  intended  to  touch ;  and  the 
closer  it  conies,  so  that  neither  the  weight  of  the 
rider  nor  settling  of  the  pannel  can  bring  it  to 
injure  the  withers'  or  chine,  the  better. 

If  a  saddle  do  not  fit,  the  pannel  cannot  be 
stuffed  so  as  to  insure  its  not  injuring  the  horse ; 
and  where  it  does  fit,  superfluous  stuffing  should 
be  avoided,  as  causing  the  saddle  to  shift  its 
place,  &c. 

II.  With  regard  to  the  rider,  it  must  be  ob- 
served, that  a  saddle  may  form  a  most  unpleasant 
seat  for  her,  though  it  fit  the  horse. 

The  best  test  of  the  propriety  or  adaptation  of 
the  seat  is  when  the  rider,  without  the  stirrup  and 
without  effort,  easily  falls  into  and  keeps  her  pro- 
per situation  in  the  saddle  ;  for  when  the  seat  is 
improperly  shaped,  she  will  be  shifted  and  placed 
insecurely. 

A  lady's  saddle  requires  particular  exactness  in 
fitting,  or  the  horse  will  be  cruelly  galled  by  it. 
It  should  be  very  deep  in  the  points,  and  should 
sit  close  from  the  top  of  the  bearing  to  the  extreme 
ends  of  the  points.  The  manner  in  which  a  lady 
rides  will  ever  give  the  saddle  a  preponderance  to 
the  near  side,  at  which  time  the  saddle  is  sustained 
by  the  point  on  the  near  side,  and  the  bearing  on 
the  off,  which  may  be  compared  to  a  hook;  the 


Accoutrements   for  the   Horse.  39 

depth  and  closeness  of  the  near  point,  preventing 
the  bearing  on  the  off  side  unhooking  itself.  The 
closer  the  pommel  comes  down  to  the  withers,  so 
that  neither  weight  nor  settlement  can  make  it 
touch,  the  better  ;  and  a  trifling  easement  may  be 
given  on  the  off  side  of  the  pommel,  but  not  to 
extend  to  any  part  where  the  bearing  should  be, 
lest  you  loosen  that  hold  which  sustains  the  saddle. 
Ladies'  saddles,  when  properly  fitted,  will  not 
require  cruppers  more  than  gentlemen's,  but  the 
girths  crossed  from  the  hind  part  of  the  saddle  to 
the  front,  will  keep  them  more  steady ;  or  a  strap 
from  the  hind  part  of  the  saddle  to  the  fore  girth 
on  the  off  side,  may  prevent  the  saddle  twisting  to 
the  near  side,  as  it  usually  does. 

The  seat  of  a  lady's  saddle,  exclusive  of  the 
head,  is  differently  formed  from  the  gentleman's. 
A  deep  hollowness  in  the  centre  of  the  seat  is 
unnecessary ;  the  seat  is  stuffed  on  each  side  full, 
that  the  rider  may  be  less  liable  to  slide  to  the 
near  side ;  and  particular  regard  should  be  had 
that  the  saddle  is  proportioned  to  the  size  of  the 
lady,  for  a  tall  lady,  though  ever  so  slim  and  light, 
must  not  have  a  short  saddle,  because  she  cannot 
keep  herself  from  off  the  cantle. 

The  modern  ladies'  saddles,  exclusive  of  the 
heads,  are  made  high  in  the  pommel ;  the  intention 


40  Accoutrements  for  the  Horse. 

being  to  prevent  the  seat  from  shifting  forward, 
on  even  ground,  or  small  declivities,  which  it  un- 
avoidably will  in  riding  down  steep  hills ;  and 
when  the  seat  is  thus  thrown  forward,  the  knee 
loses  its  grasp,  which  is  the  lady's  principal  secu- 
rity. The  head  of  the  modern  saddle,  which  is 
the  part  that  receives  the  knee,  is  made  high  (from 
six  to  eight  inches,)  which  secures  the  knee  from 
being  displaced  by  any  little  unexpected  rough- 
ness, that  sometimes  unavoidably  happens.  The 
head  is  also  placed  more  upright,  or  over  to  the 
off  side,  which  assists  the  lady  in  keeping  her 
centre  in  the  saddle,  and  not  hanging  to  the  near 
side.  Beside  this,  the  modern  saddle  has  a  flap 
on  the  near  side  before,  which  preserves  the  habit 
from  the  sweat  of  the  horse,  and  the  leg  from  the 
front  of  the  saddle.  The  inside  of  this  flap  is 
sometimes  lined  with  flannel  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  horse ;  and  the  outside  with  hog-skin, 
stuffed  for  the  accommodation  of  the  rider.  The 
head,  and  every  part  of  the  lady's  saddle,  should 
be  stuffed,  to  render  it  as  comfortable  as  pos- 
sible. 


Accoutrements  for  the   Horse.  41 


THE   BRIDLE. 

The  Bridle  consists  of  reins  and  a  bit ;  for  the 
latter  term  may  be  applied  to  any  piece  of  metal 
introduced  into  the  horse's  mouth  for  the  purpose 
of  restraint. 

I.  A  short  iron  rod,  made  rather  wider  than  the 
mouth  of  the  horse,  and  provided  with  a  hook  or 
ring  at  each  extremity  for  fastening  the  reins  to, 
affords  us  an  instance  perhaps  of  the  greatest  pos- 
sible simplicity  in  the  construction  of  a  bit ;  and 
such  a  one  only  slightly  curved  forwards,  to  allow 
more  liberty  for  the  tongue,  is  at  present  in  gene- 
ral use  for  the  heavier  kind  of  draft  horses. 

A  rod  similar  to  the  former,  broken  in  two  pieces, 
and  connected  by  a  joint  in  the  middle,  is  the  next 
in  point  of  simplicity,  and  is  in  common  use  for 
horses  of  light  draft,  as  in  those  employed  for  the 
curricle,  coach,  &c. 

The  next  in  point  of  further  complication  of 
parts,  and  which  scarcely  can  be  said  to  differ 
from  the  former,  is  the  common  snaffle.  This  is 
provided  with  two  cross  pieces  which  rest  against 
the  lips  or  sides  of  the  mouth  externally ;  for  as 
the  snaffle  is  intended  for  the  saddle  horse,  and 
the  reins  go  to  the  hands,  these  cross  pieces  are 
4* 


42  Accoutrements   for  the  Horse. 

useful  in  preventing  the  bit  from  being  drawn 
through  the  mouth. 

To  give  the  greatest  ease  possible,  a  large  and 
highly  polished  bit  is  necessary. 

On  the  other  hand,  to  give  the  greatest  degree 
of  severity  to  the  mouth  piece  of  the  snaffle,  it  is 
twisted  while  hot  into  a  spiral  form,  and  is  made 
to  present  by  this  means  a  sharp,  rough,  and  un- 
equal surface  to  the  jaw,  being  capable,  according 
to  the  degree  of  sharpness  to  which  the  edges  are 
wrought  of  pressing  the  bars  or  lips  with  greater 
or  less  severity.  The  different  degrees  of  punish- 
ment which  this  kind  of  bit  is  capable  of  inflicting, 
will  perhaps  be  found  sufficient  for  all  the  purposes 
of  correction. 

The  next  kind  of  bit  in  use  for  horses  is  the 
curbed  bit,  which,  as  it  is  an  instrument  of  much 
greater  complication  of  parts  than  the  snaffle,  so 
it  appears  to  have  been  of  comparatively  recent 
date. 

Stripped  of  all  unnecessary  trappings,  this  in- 
strument consists  of  the  following  essential  parts : 
— a  mouth  piece  ;  two  side  branches,  or  inflexible 
rods  of  iron,  firmly  fixed  to  the  former ;  a  chain 
passing  from  side  to  side,  behind  the  chin,  includ- 
ing the  jaw ;  two  eyes  or  rings  at  the  upper  ex- 
tremity of  these  branches,  serving  to  fasten  them 


Accoutrements   for   the   Horse.  43 

to  the  headstall,  to  stay  them  in  the  mouth,  and 
having  the  chain  attached  to  them ;  and  two  other 
rings  at  the  lower  extremity  of  the  above  branches 
receiving  the  reins  which  pass  to  the  hand.  These 
are  all  the  parts  really  necessary  to  constitute  the 
curb. 

The  bits  thus  formed  being  placed  in  the  mouth, 
and  the  chain  passed  round  the  lower  jaw,  the 
branches,  it  will  be  readily  seen,  become  powerful 
levers  when  drawn  backwards,  acting  upon  the 
mouth  piece  as  a  centre,  and  squeezing,  by  means 
of  the  chain,  whatever  interposes  between  it  and 
the  mouth  piece,  with  a  force  equal  to  the  length 
of  the  lever  afforded  by  the  lower  branch. 

From  considering  its  mode  of  operating,  it 
might  reasonably  be  doubted  whether  it  does  in 
reality  stop  the  horse  by  its  power  and  opposed 
force,  as  is  generally  conceived  at  present,  or 
rather  by  the  severity  of  the  pain  it  inflicts ;  for 
should  the  horse  arm  himself  against  this,  it  is 
totally  insufficient  to  arrest  his  course ;  of  which 
instances  occur  in  runaway  horses  every  day. 

The  most  useful  bit  of  the  curbed  kind  appears 
to  be  the  Weymouth  bit,  which  is  at  present  in 
common  use  for  draffrnorses  of  light  work,  as  for 
carriages,  coaches,  &c.  It  consists  of  a  strong, 
plain  mouth  piece,  of  uniform  thickness  through- 


44  Accoutrements   for  the   Horse. 

out,  without  any  upset  or  jeive,  but  is  simply 
curved  forwards,  to  give  liberty  to  the  tongue. 
This  kind  of  construction  is  the  simplest  perhaps 
that  the  curb  admits  of. 

The  easier,  simpler,  and  lighter  a  bit  is  in  all  its 
parts,  provided  it  produces  the  desired  effect,  the 
better  and  more  agreeable  it  will  be. 

II.  As  to  the  reins,  we  need  only  observe,  that 
their  centres  should  be  accurately  marked;  but 
when,  by  both  reins  being  held  in  one  hand,  the 
near  or  left  rein  has  to  pass  under  the  little  finger 
and  on  the  outside  of  the  right  rein  over  the  fore- 
finger, this  should  cause  the  right  rein  to  be  held 
from  half  to  three  quarters  of  an  inch  shorter, 
and  the  centre  to  come  proportionally  toward  the 
left. 

When  a  horse  can  stop  readily  and  with  ease, 
when  his  head  is  constant  and  steady,  and  he  is 
light  and  firm  in  the  hand,  and  so  supple  as  to  be 
able  to  obey  it  in  all  its  motions  with  ease  and 
readiness,  he  gives  ample  proofs  that  the  bit  is 
properly  adjusted,  and  fitted  to  his  mouth,  and 
that  he  is  reconciled,  and  even  pleased  with  the 
power  it  exercises  over  him*^on  the  contrary,  if 
he  open  his  mouth  as  if  he  was  gagged,  if  he 
writhe  and  twist  his  jaws,  if  he  draw  up  his  tongue 
above  the   mouth  piece,  or  thrust   it  out  of  his 


Accoutrements   for  the   Horse.  45 

mouth  sideways,  if  lie  retain  himself  or  run  hack- 
ward,  if  he  carry  his  head  very  low,  and  endeavor 
to  force  the  hand,  if  he  fear  the  impression  of  the 
bit,  have  no  appui,  toss  his  head  up  and  down,  or 
refuse  to  advance  and  go  forward,  interrupting  his 
manege  with  various  disorders,  he  gives  evident 
reason  to  suspect  that  the  bit  is  not  properly 
adapted  to  his  mouth,  and  hurts  it,  either  within 
side  or  without. 

.    THE   STIRRUP. 

The  pupil  having  been  instructed  in  the  use  of 
the  different  aids,  and  how  to  maintain  her  seat, 
and  to  ride  with  ease  to  herself  in  the  proper 
equilibrium  without  the  stirrup,  may  be  considered 
sufficiently  advanced  to  be  permitted  to  ride  with  it. 

The  proper  length  of  the  stirrup  is,  when  the 
upper  edge  of  the  bottom  bar  of  the  iron,  or  of 
the  slipper,  reaches  one  finger's  breadth  below  the 
inner  ankle  bone. 

The  position  on  horseback  with  a  stirrup  differs 
in  nothing  from  that  described  for  the  position 
without  a  stirrup;  except  that,  the  thigh  being 
relieved  from  the  weight  of  the  leg  and  foot  by 
their  resting  on  the  stirrup,  the  knee  will  be  a 
little  bent. 


46  Accoutrements   for  the   Horse. 

When  the  foot  is  in  the  stirrup,  the  heel  should 
be  lower  than  the  toes ;  and  no  more  than  the  na- 
tural weight  of  the  limbs  should  be  borne  in  the 
stirrup. 

It  is  by  an  easy  play  of  the  ankle  and  instep 
that  the  stirrup  is  retained  and  the  position  pre- 
served. 


Rules   of   the   Road.  47 


lilies  of  ffye  1{o^cL 


Without  a  knowledge  of  these,  the  fair  eques- 
trian, when  riding  in  public,  would  be  exposed  to 
considerable  inconvenience,  and,  often,  to  no  slight 
degree  of  danger. 

By  a  generally  understood  compact,  persons, 
whether  riding  or  driving,  when  proceeding  in  op- 
posite directions,  pass,  each  on  his  or  her  own  off, 
or  right  hand  side,  of  the  road ;  and  when  on  a 
parallel  course,  the  faster  party  goes  by  the  other, 
also  on  the  off,  or  right.  In  other  words,  when 
the  former  is  the  case,  the  left  hands  of  the  par- 
ties meeting,  are  towards  each  other ;  and,  in  the 
latter,  the  left  hand  of  the  faster,  is  towards  the 
right  hand  of  the  slower.  It  follows,  therefore, 
that  when  the  rider  is  about  to  meet  horses  or  car- 
riages, she  should  take  her  ground  on  her  off,  or 
right,  side  of  the  road ;  and,  when  about  to  pass 
those  travelling  in  the  same  direction  with,  though 
at  a  less  speedy  pace  than,  herself,  on  her  right, 
or  off.     In  meeting  one  rider,  or  vehicle,  and,  at 


48  Rules   of   the   Road. 

the  same  time,  passing,  by  superior  speed,  an- 
other, she  must  leave  the  first,  on  her  left,  and  the 
second,  on  her  right. 

It  will  not  be  inexpedient,  under  the  present 
head,  to  make  some  observations  as  to  which  side 
the  lady  should  take,  when  riding  in  company 
with  a  gentleman.  Adams,  a  teacher  of  equita- 
tion, and  the  author  of  a  work  on  the. subject, 
remarks,  that  the  only  inducements  for  a  gentle- 
man to  ride  on  the  left  of  a  lady,  would  be,  that, 
by  having  his  light  hand  towards  her,  in  case  of 
her  needing  assistance,  he  might  the  more  readily 
and  efficiently,  be  enabled  to  aiford  it,  than  if  he 
were  on  the  opposite  side ;  and  should  any  dis- 
arrangement occur  in  the  skirt  of  her  habit,  he 
might  screen  it  until  remedied.  Also  you  are 
situated  next  the  carriages,  and  the  various  ob- 
jects you  meet,  which,  in  narrow  roads,  or  pass- 
ing near,  might  intimidate  a  lady.  On  the  other 
hand,  our  author  observes,  with  great  good  sense, 
though  in  terms  somewhat  homely, — addressing,  it 
is  to  be  noticed,  his  remarks  to  gentlemen, — "  the 
inconvenience  of  riding  on  the  left  of  the  lady,  is, 
that  if  you  ride  near,  to  give  her  any  assistance, 
you  are  liable  to  rub,  or  incommode,  the  lady's 
legs,  and  alarm  her:  and  the  spur  is  liable  to 
catch,  or  tear,  the  lady's  habit :  if  the  roads  are 


Rules  of  the  Road. 


49 


dirty,  your  horse,  likewise,  bespatters  the  lady's 
habit.  On  the  right  hand  of  the  lady,  these  in- 
conveniences do  not  occur,  if  you  ride  ever  so 
close.  For  these  reasons,  I  think  it  most  proper 
to  take  the  right  hand  of  a  lady." 


50  Mounting 


?#0l|lf)fll[}g. 


Whatever  the  disposition  of  a  horse  may  be, 
he  should  be  approached  apparently  in  good  tem- 
per. Horses  know  by  appearance  whether  the 
rider  is  angry  or  pleased,  bold  or  timid,  handy  or 
awkward.  A  soothing  tone  of  voice  and  caresses 
are  pleasing ;  and  to  such  as  are  unsteady,  or  have 
a  dislike  to  be  mounted,  it  helps  to  dispel  their 
fears.  Young  horses  especially  should  therefore 
be  thus  gently  treated,  and  much  encouraged. 

Before  mounting,  it  is  proper  to  observe  whether 
the  saddle  is  rightly  placed,  the  girths  secure  and 
not  too  tight  (for  many  horses  are  apt  to  plunge 
when  they  are,)  the  bridle  fitly  on,  and  the  curb, 
when  used,  smoothly  placed. 

On  approaching  a  horse,  the  skirt  of  the  habit 
should  be  gracefully  gathered  up,  and  the  whip  be 
carried  in  the  right  hand. 

It  is  the  groom's  duty,  when  the  rider  ap- 
proaches to  gather  up  the  reins  with  his  left  hand, 
smoothly  and  evenly  the  curb  rein  between,  and 


Mounting 


51 


somewhat  tighter  than  the  bridoon,  properly  di- 
viding them  with  his  forefinger.     The  lady  advanc- 


ing on  the  near  side  of  the  horse,  to  the  saddle, 
receives  them  a  little  more  forward  than  the  point 
of  the  horse's  shoulder,  with  her  right  hand,  which 
still  retains  and  passes  the  whip  over  the  saddle  to 


the  off  or  right  side.     On  taking  the  bridle  in  this 
manner,  her  forefinger  is  placed  between  the  reins : 


52  Mounting. 

the  groom  then  removes  his  hand,  and  the  lady 
draws  her  own  back,  suffering  the  reins  to  glide 
gently  and  evenly  through  her  fingers,  until  she 
reaches  the  near  crutch  of  the  saddle,  which  she 
takes  with  her  right  hand,  still  holding  the  whip 
and  reins,  and  places  herself  close  to  the  near  side 
of  the  horse,  with  her  back  almost  turned  towards 
him.  The  groom  now  quits  his  former  post,  and 
prepares  to  assist  her  to  mount.  The  horse  being 
thus  left  to  the  lady's  government,  it  is  proper, 
that  in  passing  her  hand  through  the  reins  she 
should  not  have  suffered  them  to  become  so  loose 
as  to  prevent  her,  when  her  hand  is  on  the  crutch, 
from  having  a  light,  but  steady  bearing  on  the  bit, 


and  thus  keeping  the  horse  to  his  position  during 
the  process  of  mounting.  She  next  places  her  left 
foot  firmly  in  the  right  hand  of  the  groom,  or  gen- 


Mounting.  53 

tleman,  in  attendance,  who  stoops  to  receive  it. 
The  lady  then  puts  her  left  hand  on  his  right 
shoulder;  and  straightening  her  left  knee,  bears 
her  weight  on  the  .assistant's  hand;  which  he 
gradually  raises  (rising,  himself,  at  the  same  time) 
until  she  is  seated  on  the  saddle.  During  her 
elevation,  she  steadies,  and  even  if  necessary, 
partly  assists  herself  towards  the  saddle  by  her 
hands;  one  of  which,  it  will  be  recollected,  is 
placed  on  the  crutch,  and  the  other  on  her  assis- 
tant's shoulder.  It  is  important  that  she  should 
keep  her  foot  firm  and  her  knee  straight. 

If  these  directions  be  well  attended  to,  she  will 
find  herself  raised  to  her  saddle  with  but  a  trifling 
exertion,  either,  on  her  own  part,  or  that  of  the 
assistant.  Should  the  latter  be  a  lad  only,  or  a 
groom  not  much  accustomed  to  this  part  of  his 
business,  he  should  use  both  hands  instead  of  one ; 
— joining  them  by  the  fingers  :  indeed,  this  gene- 
rally speaking,  is  the  safer  mode.  The  lady,  in 
all  cases,  should  take  care  that  her  weight  be  well 
balanced  on  her  left  foot  from  which  she  should 
rise  as  perpendicularly  as  possible ;  above  all  things 
taking  care  not  to  put  her  foot  forward,  but  keep- 
ing it  directly  under  her.  The  assistant  should 
not  begin  to  raise  her  until  she  has  removed  her 
right  foot  from  the  ground,  and,  by  strengthening 
5* 


54  Mounting. 

her  knee,  thrown  her  weight  completely  into  his 
hand. 

Having  reached  the  saddle,  while  her  face  is  still 
turned  to  the  near  side  of  the  horse,  and  before  she 


places  her  knee  on  the  pommel,  the  assistant  puts 
the  lady's  left  foot  in  the  stirrup,  while  she  re- 
moves her  hand  from  the  near  to  the  off  crutch  of 
the  saddle,  holding  the  whip  and  reins  as  before 
directed.  She  now  raises  herself  on  the  stirrup 
by  the  aid  of  her  right  hand,  while  the  assistant, 
or  the  lady  herself  with  the  left  hand,  draws  the 
habit  forward  in  its  place.  She  then  places  her 
right  knee  between  the  crutches,  and  her  seat  is 
taken. 

Should  the  back  part  of  the  habit  at  this  time, 
or  afterwards,  in  the  course  of  the  ride,  require 


Mounting.  55 

any  arrangement,  the  lady  raises  herself  in  the 
stirrup,  by  strengthening  her  knee,  and,  with  her 
left  hand,  disposes  her  habit  to  her  satisfaction. 

The  method  of  doing  it  is  to  take  the  reins  in 
the  right  hand  as  directed  when  mounting,  holding 
by  the  off  crutch  or  pommel  of  the  saddle,  and 
raising  yourself  up.  The  action  of  the  horse,  if 
moving,  will  then  considerably  assist  you.  With 
your  left  hand,  each  time  you  rise,  pull  and  shake 
your  clothes  down,  and  endeavor  to  raise  yourself 
as  high  as  you  can  for  that  purpose. 

When  the  clothes  rise  before,  it  may  be  neces- 
sary to  remove  the  knee  from  the  pommel.  This 
few  ladies  choose  to  do,  nor  is  it  advisable  but 
when  the  horse  stands  still,  or  is  only  in  a  slow 
walk.  You  then,  having  hold  as  before,  and  lean- 
ing the  body  back — but  raising  yourself  upright 
in  the  stirrup  is  best — remove  your  knee,  and  thus 
standing,  let  the  garments  fall  down  by  a  momen- 
tary shifting  of  any  part  that  presses  them  to  the 
saddle ;  which  done,  place  your  knee  again,  and 
seat  yourself. 


56  Dismounting 


£HstyOl{K)fj>Cj« 


The  first  operation,  preparatory  to  dismounting, 
is  to  bring  the  horse  to  an  easy,  yet  perfect,  stop. 
If  the  lady  be  light  and  dexterous,  she  may  dis- 
mount without  assistance,  from  a  middle-sized 
horse  :  but,  it  is  better  not  to  do  so  if  the  animal 
be  high. 

The  right  hand  of  the  lady,  when  preparing  to 
dismount,  is  to  receive  the  reins,  and  be  carried  to 
the  off  crutch  of  the  saddle.  The  reins  should  be 
held  sufficiently  tight  to  restrain  the  horse  from 
advancing :  and  yet  not  so  firm  as  to  cause  him  to 
back  or  rear  ;  nor  uneven,  lest  it  make  him  swerve. 

The  lady  should  next  disengage  her  right  leg, 
clearing  the  dress  as  she  raises  her  knee ;  remove 
her  right  hand  to  the  near  crutch :  and  then  take 
her  foot  from  the  stirrup. 

Thus  far  the  process  is  the  same  whether  the 
lady  dismount  with  or  without  assistance. 

In  whatever  manner  the  lady  may  choose  to 
dismount,  it  is  necessary  to   be  careful  that  the 


Dismounting.  57 

clothes  are  off  the  pommel  of  the  saddle,  and  the 
stirrup  free  of  any  entanglement. 

If  the  lady  be  assisted,  the  gentleman,  or  groom, 
may  either  lift  her  completely  off  the  saddle  to  the 
ground ;  or,  taking  her  left  hand  in  his  left  hand, 
place  his  right  hand  on  her  waist,  and,  as  she 
springs  off,  support  her  in  her  descent.  She  may 
also  alight  if  she  be  tolerably  active,  by  placing 
her  right  hand  in  that  of  the  gentleman  (who,  in 
this  case,  must  stand  at  the  horse's  shoulder)  and 
descend  without  any  other  support.  Should  there 
be  any  objection  to,  or  difficulty  found  in  alighting 


by  either  of  these  modes,  the  gentleman,  or  groom, 
may  place  himself  immediately  in  front  of  the 
lady,  who  is  then  to  incline  sufficiently  forward  for 
him  to  receive  her  weight,  by  placing  his  hands 
under  her  arms,  and  thus  easing  her  descent. 


58  Dismounting. 

If  the  lady  dismount  without  assistance,  after 
the  hand  is  carried  from  the  off  to  the  near  crutch, 
she  must  turn  round  so  as  to  be  able  to  take,  in 
her  left  hand,  a  lock  of  the  horse's  mane ;  by  the 
aid  of  which,  and,  by  bearing  her  right  -hand  on 
the  crutch,  she  may  alight  without  difficulty.  In 
dismounting  thus,  without  assistance,  she  must 
turn  as  she  quits  the  saddle,  so  as  to  descend  with 
her  face  towards  the  horse's  side. 


By  whatever  mode  the  lady  dismounts,  but  es- 
pecially if  she  do  so  without  assistance,  she  should 
— to  prevent  any  unpleasant  shock  on  reaching 
the  ground — bend  her  knees,  suffer  her  body  to  be 
perfectly  pliant,  and  alight  on  her  toes,  or  the 
middle  of  her  feet.  She  is  neither  to  relinquisl 
her  hold,  nor  is  the  gentleman,  or  groom,  if  she 
make  use  of  his  ministry,  to  withdraw  his  hand, 
until  she  is  perfectly  safe  on  the  ground. 


Dismounting. 


59 


In  order  to  dismount  with  grace  and  facility, 
more  practice  is  required  than  that  of  merely  de- 
scending from  the  saddle  after  an  exercise  or  a 
ride.  It  is  advisable  to  mount  and  dismount,  for 
some  days,  several  times,  successively,  either  be- 
fore or  after  the  ride ; — commencing  with  the  most 
simple  modes,  until  a  sufficient  degree  of  confi- 
dence and  experience  is  acquired  to  perform  either 
of  these  operations  in  a  proper  manner,  with  the 
mere  aid  of  the  assistant's  hand. 


60  The   Curb,   Etc 


Ifye    Gi^b,  £fc. 


All  the  preceding  lessons  are  supposed  to  be 
given  with  the  snaffle  alone. 

When  the  pupil  has  attained  some  proficiency 
in  horsemanship  and  has  acquired  a  proper  degree 
of  knowledge  of  the  aids,  she  may  be  instructed 
to  ride  with  the  curb  in  addition  to  the  snaffle. 

The  construction  of  the  curb,  and  the  mode  of 
using  it,  have  been  already  explained. 

MODES   OF   HOLDING  THE   REINS. 

We  have  already  described  the  modes  of  hold- 
ing the  snaffle  either  with  two  hands  or  with  one. 
Those  of  holding  the  Curb  are  somewhat  similar. 

Considering  these  in  the  same  order,  we  may 
first  notice  the  practice  of  the  army,  who  always 
ride  with  bits  and  bridoons.  The  bit  or  curb  rein 
is  placed  within  the  bridoon  or  snaffle  rein,  and 
passes  through  the  hand  exactly  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  snaffle  was  before  described  to  do ;  the 
little  finger  separating  the  left  rein  from  the  right, 


The   Curb,   Etc.  61 

&c.  The  left  rein  of  the  bridoon  or  snaffle  then 
passes  through  the  hand,  laying  smooth  on  the 
left  rein  of  the  bit  or  curb,  with  the  thumb,  as 
before  observed,  placed  on  it ;  and  the  right  rein 
hangs  loose. 

The  more  usual  method  of  holding  the  reins  is 
that  wherein  the  little  finger  separates  the  curb 
reins,  and  the  second  finger  the  bridoon  reins. 

SHIFTING   THE   REINS. 

This  should  be  done  expertly  without  stopping 
the  horse,  altering  his  pace,  breaking  the  time,  or 
looking  to  the  hands. 

When  the  snaffle  reins  are  held  in  one  hand, 
the  method  of  shifting  from  the  left  hand  into  the 
right  is  as  follows. 

Turn  the  thumbs  toward  each  other,  carry  the 
right  hand  over  the  left,  put  the  forefinger  of  the 
right  hand  downwards  between  the  reins  in  the 
place  of  the  little  finger  of  the  left  hand,  and  lay 
the  reins  smoothly  through  the  right  hand. 

By  this  means  the  forefinger  separates  the  left 
reins  from  the  right ;  the  superfluous  reins  hang 
downwards  through  the  hand;  and  the  thumb 
presses  the  left  reins  between  the  first  and  second 
joint  of  the  forefinger. 
6 


62  The   Cukb,   Etc. 

If  the  reins  are  shortened  by  this  method  of 
shifting,  it  is  easy  to  let  them  slip  to  their  proper 
length;  hut,  whenever  they  are  too  long,  it  re- 
quires the  assistance  of  the  other  hand  to  shorten 
them. 

The  shifting  them  again  into  the  left  hand  is 
only  carrying  the  left  hand  over  the  right,  putting 
the  little  finger  of  the  left  hand  downward  between 
the  left  and  right  reins,  placing  them  smoothly 
upward  through  the  Land,  and  letting  the  ends 
hang  over  the  forefinr  -  as  at  first. 

When  both  curb  .id  snaffle  reins  are  held  in  the 
last  and  most  r  aal  method,  you  shift  them  into 
the  right  hn*  t  (after  turning  the  left  thumb  to- 
wards the  ^ght,)  by  putting  the  forefinger  of  the 
right  h?  ad  into  the  place  of  the  little  finger  of  the 
left,  tue  second  finger  of  the  right  into  the  place 
of  the  third  finger  of  the  left,  and  the  third  finger 
of  the  right  into  the  place  of  the  second  finger  of 
the  left,  placing  the  reins  smoothly  through  the 
right  hand,  with  the  ends  hanging  down. 

Thus  you  have  every  rein  separate  in  the  right 
hand. 

When  you  shift  them  again  to  the  left,  put  the 
fingers  of  the  left  hand  into  the  places  you  took 
them  from. 


The   Curb,   Etc.  63 

When  you  are  handy  and  expert  at  this,  your 
reins  will  never  be  in  disorder. 

The  shifting  of  the  reins  is  principally  intended 
to  relieve  the  left  hand  when  cramped  or  tired,  or 
when  you  have  occasion  to  use  it,  or  when  you 
mean  to  work  or  attack  your  horse  on  the  left  side. 

SEPARATING   THE   REINS. 

Separating  the  reins,  on  several  occasions,  is 
very  necessary.  Two  hands  can  execute  more 
than  one  ;  and,  consequently,  when  a  horse  refuses 
obedience  to  one  hand,  you  take  two. 

You  seldom  have  occasion  to  take  more  than  one 
rein  in  the  right  hand,  which,  if  a  single-reined 
bridle,  you  cannot  mistake ;  but  when  it  is  a  double- 
reined  bridle,  you  take  the  right  rein  only  of  the 
snaffle  in  the  right  hand. 

For  tYs  purpose,  turn  the  back  of  your  right 
hand  upwards ;  put  the  first  three  fingers  over  the 
bridoon  rein,  by  which  you  receive  the  rein  be- 
tween your  little  and  third  finger ;  let  the  super- 
fluous end  hang  over  the  forefinger  with  the  thumb 
placed  on  it ;  and  then  carry  the  thumb  upwards 
as  you  do  the  bridle  hand. 


64  The  Curb,   Etc. 

changing  the  reins. 

Changing  the  reins,  when  working  with  a  double- 
reined  bridle,  may  at  times  be  necessary. 

For  this  purpose,  when  you  are  working  to  the 
right,  you  have  the  reins  of  the  bit  only  in  the  left 
hand,  the  bridoon  rein  being  entirely  detached 
from  it ;  and  the  right  hand  holds  only  the  right 
rein  of  the  bridoon. 

Now,  when  you  change  to  the  left,  first  throw 
all  the  superfluous  rein  over  to  the  right,  so  that 
the  rein  is  straight  from  the  horse's  mouth  to  the 
neck  on  his  left  side,  and  quit  it  with  the  right 
hand.  Then  change  the  reins  of  the  bit  into  the 
right  hand,  with  the  forefinger  downward  between 
them,  as  other  reins  have  been  directed  to  be 
shifted.  Lastly,  the  left  hand,  being  disengaged, 
lays  hold  of  the  bridoon  rein,  which,  by  the  super- 
fluous rein  being  over  on  the  right,  you  can  take 
as  short  as  you  please,  and  let  it  slip  to  the  length 
you  require. 

In  changing  again  to  the  right,  be  sure  first  to 
throw  all  the  superfluous' bridoon  rein  to  the  left, 
and  then  you  will  not  be  embarrassed  when  you 
come  to  take  it  up  with  the  right. 


The   Curb,  Etc.  65 

adjusting  the  reins. 

Adjusting  the  reins  is  altering  them  by  shorten- 
ing or  lengthening  in  whole,  or  in  part,  as  occasion 
may  require.  This  will  be  as  often  as  you  change 
from  one  place  to  another.  Besides,  the  reins, 
being  held  as  pliant  and  easy  as  circumstances 
will  admit,  imperceptibly  slip,  particularly  with 
beginners. 

To  become  expert  at  adjusting  the  reins,  take 
the  superfluous  reins  that  hang  over  the  forefinger 
of  the  left  hand  into  the  right  hand  altogether. 
Do  not  remove  the  left  hand ;  but  only  open  the 
fingers  so  that  you  can  slip  the  hand  up  and  down 
the  reins  smoothly  and  freely,  while  the  right 
hand  supports  the  horse  and  feels  every  cadence 
or  step  the  horse  takes.  By  this  method,  you  will 
become  handy  in  altering  the  reins  altogether. 

Would  you  shorten  the  curb  rein  and  lengthen 
the  bridoon,  apply  the  right  hand  to  the  end  of 
the  curb  rein  that  hangs  over  the  forefinger.  First 
slip  the  whole  of  the  reins  too  long ;  then  slip  the 
left  hand  down  the  reins,  keeping  the  centre  of  the 
curb  rein  fast  in  your  right  hand,  and  feeling  with 
your  fingers  whether  both  the  curb  reins  are  of 
equal  length  before  you  grasp  with  the  left  hand 
or  quit  the  right. 

6*  E 


66  The   Curb,   Etc. 

In  like  manner  you  shorten  the  bridoon  or 
snaffle,  and  lengthen  the  curb ;  first  slipping  the 
whole  too  long ;  and  then  applying  the  right  hand 
to  the  rein  you  mean  to  shorten. 

When  any  single  rein  wants  shortening,  apply 
the  right  hand  to  that  part  which  hangs  over  the 
forefinger,  and  draw  it  tighter. 

A  little  observation  and  practice  will  soon  make 
you  so  perfectly  acquainted  with  their  situation, 
that  you  will  find  them  as  readily  in  the  dark  as  in 
the  light. 

When  the  reins  are  separate,  i.  e.  both  hands 
occupied  by  reins,  and  they  want  adjusting,  you 
bring  the  hands  together  to  assist  each  other ;  re- 
membering that  the  hand  that  supports  the  atti- 
tude or  position  the  horse  works  in,  which  is  always 
what  is  termed  the  inner  hand,  is  not  to  depart 
from  its  situation  so  as  to  occasion  any  disorder, 
but  rather  the  outward  hand  to  be  brought  to  the 
inner,  for  the  purpose  of  adjusting  them. 

POSITION   OF  THE   HAND. 

The  left  elbow  is  to  touch  the  hip  lightly.  The 
arm  is  to  be  steady  against  the  side,  without  force 
or  stiffness.  The  hand  is  to  be  about  three  inches 
from  the  body,  and  as  much  above  the  pommel  of 


The   Curb,   Etc.  67 

the  saddle.  The  little  finger  is  to  be  in  a  line  with 
the  point  of  the  elbow.  The  wrist  is  to  be  rounded. 
The  finger  nails  are  to  front  the  centre  of  the 
body.     The  thumb  is  to  point  across  the  body. 

From  this  position  of  the  bridle  hand,  the  little 
finger  should  at  least  have  three  lines  of  action 
upward  to  guide  the  horse;  —  towards  the  right 
shoulder, — towards  the  left, — towards  the  breast. 
The  little  finger  should  move  on  these  lines  only 
as  the  aids  require.  Thus  the  horse  will  be  guided, 
and  lifted  up  at  each  turn,  by  the  inward  or  lead- 
ing rein ;  the  outward  acting  in  unity  with  it. 

Pupils  should  be  cautioned  not  to  throw  their 
right  shoulders  back,  which  they  are  apt  to  do, 
when  they  first  take  the  reins  in  one  hand.  The 
right  arm  should  hang  in  an  easy  and  natural  posi- 
tion by  the  side. 


MANAGEMENT   OF  THE   CURB. 

The  curb  requires  a  light  hand  in  the  manage- 
ment. It  is  necessary  to  feel  and  ease  the  reins 
in  the  degree  suitable  to  the  individual  horse. 
Some  horses  require  rather  a  firmer  feel  than 
others,  and  most  have  some  peculiarity,  which  ex- 
perienced riders  discover  and  turn  to  account. 

The  pupil  cannot  be  too  deeply  impressed  with 


68 


The   Curb,   Etc. 


the  necessity  of  a  constant  attention  to  the  proper 
management  of  the  curb,  by  means  of  which  a 
correspondence  is  kept  up  between  the  mouth  of 
the  horse  and  the  hand  of  the  rider.  When  judi- 
ciously held,  it  occasions  a  playful  action  of  the 
horse's  mouth.  It  is  by  a  firm,  easy,  and  light 
hand  only  that  the  sensibility  and  freshness  of 
feeling  of  the  horse's  mouth,  so  essential  in  riding, 
can  be  preserved. 


The  Reins.  69 


Ifje  ^ciij3. 


.  Pupils,  during  their  first  lessons,  may  arrange 
the  reins  in  the  following  manner :  —  The  right 
hand  is  removed  from  the  crutch  of  the  saddle ; 
the  reins  are  separated,  and  one  is  held  in  each 
hand  passing  up  between  the  third  and  fourth 
fingers,  the  ends  being  brought  over  the  forefingers, 
and  held  in  their  places  by  closing  the  thumbs 
upon  them,  and  shutting  the  hands :  these  should 
be  on  a  level  with  each  other,  at  a  little  distance 
apart,  three  inches  from  the  body,  or  thereabouts, 
with  the  knuckles  of  the  little  fingers  in  a  line  with 
the  elbow.  By  slightly  advancing  the  hands,  and 
even  relaxing  the  hold  of  the  reins,  the  horse,  if 
well  trained,  will  go  forward.  The  left  hand  is 
raised  to  turn  to  the  near  or  left  side,  and  the  right 
hand  to  turn  in  an  opposite  direction.  By  slightly 
raising  and  approaching  both  hands  toward  the 
body,  the  horse  may  be  made  to  stop.  When 
either  "rein  is  acted  on,  to  turn  the  horse,  the  other 
should  be  a  little  slackened,  or  the  hand  which 
holds  it  relaxed. 


70  The   Reins. 

As  soon  as  the  pupil  has  passed  her  noviciate  in 
the  art,  she  holds  both  reins  in  the  left  hand. 
Some  ladies  separate  them  by  the  third  and  fourth 
fingers  ;  others  by  one  of  these  fingers  only ;  and 
many,  by  the  fourth  and  little  finger :  but  the 
greater  number  use  the  latter  alone  for  this  pur- 
pose, passing  the  off  or  right  rein  over  it,  and 
bringing  the  near  or  left  rein  up  beneath  it.  The 
reins  are  carried  flat  upon  each  other  up  through 
the  hand,  near  the  middle  joint  of  the  forefinger, 
and  the  thumb  is  placed  upon  them  so  that  their 
ends  fall  down  in  front  of  the  knuckles.  The 
elbow  should  neither  be  squeezed  close  to  the  side, 
nor  thrust  out  into  an  awkward  and  unnatural 
position ;  but  be  carried  easily  and  gracefully,  at 
a  moderate  distance  from  the  body.  The  thumb 
should  be  uppermost,  and  the  hand  so  placed  that 
the  lower  part  of  it  be  nearer  the  waist  than  the 
upper ;  the  wrist  should  be  slightly  rounded,  the 
little  finger  in  a  line  with  the  elbow,  and  nails 
turned  towards  the  rider. 

With  the  reins  in  this  position,  the  lady,  if  she 
wish  her  horse  to  advance,  brings  her  thumb  to- 
wards her,  until  the  knuckles  are  uppermost,  and 
the  nails  over  the  horse's  shoulder :  the  reins,  by 
this  simple  motion,  are  slackened  sufficiently  to 
permit  him  to  move  forward.     After  he  is  put  in 


The   Reins.  71 

motion,  the  rider's  hand  should  return  to  the  first 
position,  gradually ;  or  it  may  be  slightly  advanced, 
and  the  thumb  turned  upwards  immediately. 

To  direct  a  horse  to  the  left,  let  the  thumb, 
which  in  the  first  position  is  uppermost  be  turned 
to  the  right,  the  little  finger  to  the  left,  and  the 
back  of  the  hand  brought  upwards.  This  move- 
ment is  performed  in  a  moment,  and  it  will  cause 
the  left  rein  to  hang  slack,  while  the  right  is  tight- 
ened so  as  to  press  against  the  horse's  neck. 

To  direct  the  horse  to  the  right,  the  hand  should 
quit  the  first  position,  the  nails  be  turned  upwards, 
the  little  finger  brought  in  towards  the  right,  and 
the  thumb  moved  to  the  left :  the  left  rein  will  thus 
press  the  neck,  while  the  right  one  is  slackened. 

To  stop  the  horse,  or  make  him  back,  the  nails 
should  be  turned,  from  the  first  position,  upwards, 
the  knuckles  be  reversed,  and  the  wrist  be  rounded 
as  much  as  possible. 


72         The   Seat  and  Balance. 


Ifye  §e^f  ^5  l^i^ce. 


The  body  should  always  be  in  a  situation,  as 
well  to  preserve  the  balance,  as  to  maintain  the 
seat. 

The  seat  is  the  disposition  of  the  several  parts 
of  the  body,  agreeably  to  the  manner  in  which 
the  horse  works. 

The  immediate  result  of  this  is,  the  keeping 
firm  in  the  saddle  at  such  times  as  the  body  is 
liable  to  be  thrown  on  the  horse's  neck,  if  not 
over  his  head,  or  to  tumble  backward  over  the 
horse's  tail. 

It  should  be  explained  to  the  pupil,  that,  to  have 
a  good  seat  on  horseback,  she  must  be  in  unity 
with  her  horse,  and  as  firm  and  easy  as  though 
they  were  one  body. 

The  fundamental  seat  is  that  medium  position 
from  which  all  others  proceed,  and  in  which  the 
rider  sits  when  the  horse  is  not  only  going  straight 
forward,  but  without  any  bend  in  his  position. 

One  of  the  most  common  errors  committed  by 


The   Seat  and   Balance.         73 

ladies    on   horseback,  who   have    not   been   pro- 
perly taught  to  ride  is  hanging  by  the  near  crutch, 


so  that  instead  of  being  gracefully  seated  in  the 
centre  of  the  saddle,  with  the  head  in  its  proper 
situation,  und  the  shoulders  even,  the  body  is  in- 
clined to  the  left,  the  head  is  brought  to  the  right 
by  an  inelegant  bend  of  the  neck,  the  right  shoulder 
is  elevated  and  the  left  depressed. 

To  correct  or  avoid  these  and  similar  faults,  is 
important.  All  the  rider's  movements  should  har- 
monize with  the  paces  of  the  animal :  her  position 
should  be  at  once  easy  to  herself  and  her  horse ; 
and  alike  calculated  to  ensure  her  own  safety  and 
give  her  a  perfect  command  over  the  animal.  If  she 
sit  in  a  careless,  ungraceful  manner,  the  action  of 
her  horse  will  be  the  reverse  of  elegant.  A  lady 
7 


74         The   Seat  and   Balance. 

seldom  appears  to  greater  advantage  than  when 
mounted  on  a  fine  horse,  if  her  deportment  be 
graceful,  and  her  positions  correspond  with  his 
paces  and  attitudes ;  but  the  reverse  is  the  case, 
if,  instead  of  acting  with,  and  influencing  the 
movements  of  the  horse,  she  appear  to  be  tossed 
to  and  fro,  and  overcome  by  them.  She  should 
rise,  descend,  advance,  and  stop  with,  and  not  after 
the  animal.  From  this  harmony  of  motion  result 
ease,  elegance,  and  the  most  brilliant  effect.  The 
lady  should  sit  in  such  a  position,  that  the  weight 
of  the  body  may  rest  on  the  centre  of  the  saddle. 
One  shoulder  should  not  be  advanced  more  than 
the  other.  Neither  must  she  bear  any  weight  on 
the  stirrup,  nor  hang  by  the  crutch  towards  the 
near  side.  She  ought  not  to  suffer  herself  to  in- 
cline forward,  but  partially  backward.  If  she 
bend  forward,  her  shoulders  will,  most  probably, 
be  rounded,  and  her  weight  thrown  too  much  upon 
the  horse's  withers :  in  addition  to  these  disadvan- 
tages, the  position  will  give  her  an  air  of  timid 
gaucherie.  Leaning  a  little  backward,  on  the 
contrary,  tends  to  bring  the  shoulders  in,  keeps 
the  weight  in  its  proper  bearing,  and  produces  an 
appearance  of  graceful  confidence. 

The  head  should  be  in  an  easy,  natural  position : 
that  is,  neither  drooping  forward  nor  thrown  back ; 


The   Seat   and   Balance.         75 

neither  leaning  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left.  The 
bust  should  be  elegantly  developed,  by  throwing 
back  the  shoulders,  advancing  the  chest,  and  bend- 
ing the  back  part  of  the  waist  inward.  The  elbows 
should  be  steady,  and  kept  in  an  easy,  and  appa- 
rently unconstrained  position,  near  the  sides. 
The  lower  part  of  the  arm  should  form  a  right 
angle  with  the  upper  part,  which  ought  to  descend 
almost  perpendicularly  from  the  shoulder.  The 
position  of  the  hands,  when  both  are  occupied  with 
the  reins,  or  when  the  reins  are  held  in  one  only, 
we  have  already  noticed :  the  right  arm  and  hand, 
in  the  latter  case,  may  depend,  easily,  from  the 
shoulder,  and  the  whip  be  held  in  the  fingers,  with 
the  lash  downward,  between  two  fingers  and  the 
thumb.  The  whip  may  also  be  carried  in  the  right 
hand,  in  the  manner  adopted  by  gentlemen :  the 
lady  is  not  restricted  to  any  precise  rules  in  this 
respect,  but  may  vary  the  position  of  her  whip 
arm  as  she  may  think  fit,  so  that  she  do  not  per- 
mit it  to  appear  ungraceful.  She  must,  however, 
take  care  that  the  whip  be  so  carried,  that  its 
point  do  not  tickle  or  irritate  the  flank  of  the 
horse. 

The  stirrup  is  of  very  little  use  except  to  support 
the  left  foot  and  leg,  and  to  assist  the  rider  to  rise 
in  the  trot :  generally  speaking,  therefore,  as  we 


76        The   Seat  and  Balance. 

have  already  remarked,  none  of  the  weight  of  the 
body  should  be  thrown  upon  the  stirrup.  The  left 
leg  must  not  be  cramped  up,  but  assume  an  easy 
and  comfortable  position :  it  should  neither  be 
forced  out,  so  as  to  render  the  general  appearance 
ungraceful,  and  the  leg  itself  fatigued ;  nor,  should 
it  be  pressed  close  to  the  horse,  except  when  used 
as  an  aid ;  but  descend  gracefully  by  his  side, 
without  bearing  against  it.  * 

Although  hanging  by  the  left  crutch  of  the 
saddle,  over  the  near  side,  is  not  only  inelegant, 
but  objectionable  in  many  important  respects,  the 
near  crutch,  properly  used,  is  a  lady's  principal 
dependance  on  horseback.  The  right  knee  being 
passed  over  the  near  crutch,  the  toes  being  slightly 
depressed,  and  the  leg  pressed  against  the  fore 
part  of  the  saddle,  the  pommel  is  grasped,  and  the 
rider  well  secured  in  the  possession  of  her  seat. 
It  is  said,  that  when  a  lady,  while  her  horse  is 
going  at  a  smart  trot,  can  lean  over,  on  the  right 
side,  far  enough  to  see  the  horse's  shoe,  she  may 
be  supposed  to  have  established  a  correct  seat ; 
which,  we  repeat,  she  should  spare  no  pains  to 
acquire.  In  some  of  the  schools,  a  pupil  is  often 
directed  to  ride  without  the  stirrup,  and,  with  her 
arms  placed  behind  her,  while  the  master  holds 
the  long  rein,  and  urges  the  horse  to  various  de- 


The   Seat  and   Balance.         77 

grees  of  speed,  and  in  different  directions,  in  order 
to  settle  her  firmly  and  gracefully  on  the  saddle, — 
to  convince  her  that  there  is  security  without  the 
stirrup, — and  to  teach  her  to  accompany,  with 
precision  and  ease,  the  various  movements  of  the 
horse. 

Nothing  can  be  more  detrimental  to  the  grace  of 
a  lady's  appearance  on  horseback,  than  a  bad  posi- 
tion :  a  recent  author  says,  it  is  a  sight  that  would 
spoil  the  finest  landscape  in  the  world.  What  can 
be  much  more  ridiculous,  than  the  appearance  of 
a  female,  whose  whole  frame,  through  mal-position, 
seems  to  be  the  sport  of  every  movement  of  the 
horse  ?  If  the  lady  be  not  mistress  of  her  seat, 
and  be  unable  to  maintain  a  proper  position  of  her 
limbs  and  body,  so  soon  as  her  horse  starts  into  a 
trot,  she  runs  the  risk  of  being  tossed  about  on 
the  saddle,  like  the  Halcyon  of  the  poets  in  her 
frail  nest, — 

"Floating  upon  the  boisterous  rude  sea." 

If  the  animal  should  canter,  his  fair  rider's  head 
will  be  jerked  to  and  fro  as  "a  vexed  weather- 
cock ;"  her  drapery  will  be  blown  about,  instead 
of  falling  gracefully  around  her; 'and  her  elbows 
rise  and  fall,  or,  as  it  were,  flap  up  and  down  like 
the  pinions  of  an  awkward  nestling  endeavoring  to 
7* 


78         The   Seat   and  Balance. 

fly.  To  avoid  such  disagreeable  similies  being 
applied  to  her,  the  young  lady,  who  aspires  to  be 
a  good  rider,  should,  even  from  her  first  lesson  in 
the  art,  strive  to  obtain  a  proper  deportment  on 
the  saddle.  She  ought  to  be  correct,  without 
seeming  stiff  or  formal:  and  easy,  without  ap- 
pearing slovenly.  The  position  we  have  described, 
subject  to  occasional  variations,  will  be  found,  by 
experience,  to  be  the  most  natural  and  graceful 
mode  of  sitting  a  horse : — it  is  easy  to  the  rider 
and  her  steed ;  and  enables  the  former  to  govern 
the  actions  of  the  latter  so  effectually,  in  all  ordi- 
nary cases,  as  to  produce  that  harmony  of  motion, 
which  is  so  much  and  so  deservedly  admired. 

The  balance  is  conducive  to  the  ease,  elegance, 
and  security  of  the  rider : — it  consists  in  a  fore- 
knowledge of  the  direction  which  any  given  mo- 
tion of  the  horse  will  impart  to  the  body,  and  a 
ready  adaptation  of  the  whole  frame  to  the  proper 
position,  before  the  animal  has  completed  his 
change  of  attitude  or  action — it  is  that  disposition 
of  the  person,  in  accordance  with  the  movements 
of  the  horse,  which  prevents  it  from  an  undue 
inclination,  forward  or  backward,  to  the  right  or 
to  the  left. 

The  balance  is  preserved  when  the  rider  sits 
directly  down  upon  the  saddle,  and  so  firmly  that 


The   Seat  and   Balance.         79 

nothing  can  loosen  her  seat.  But  the  firmness 
here  necessary  is  that  hold  with  which  she  keeps 
herself  on  horseback,  without  employing  strength, 
trusting  entirely  to  the  natural  balance  of  her 
body  to  accompany  all  the  motions  of  the  horse. 

Nothing  but  practice  can  give  this  balance,  and 
consequently  this  hold  upon  the  horse. 

By  the  direction  and  motion  of  the  horse's  legs 
the  balance  is  governed.  If  the  animal  be  either 
standing  still,  or  merely  walking  straightforward, 
the  body  should  be  preserved  in  the  simple  posi- 
tion which  we  have  directed  the  lady  to  assume  on 
taking  her  seat.  Should  it  be  necessary  to  apply 
the  whip,  so  as  to  make  the  animal  quicken  his 
pace,  or  to  pull  him  in  suddenly,  the  body  must  be 
prepared  to  accommodate  itself  to  the  animal's 
change  of  action.  When  going  round  a  corner  at 
a  brisk  pace,  or  riding  in  a  circle,  the  body  should 
lean  back  rather  more  than  in  the  walking  posi- 
tion :  to  the  same  extent  that  the  horse  bends  in- 
ward, must  the  body  lean  in  that  direction.  If  a 
horse  shy  at  any  object,  and  either  turn  completely 
and  suddenly  round,  or  run  on  one  side  only,  the 
body  should,  if  possible,  keep  time  with  his  move- 
ments, and  adapt  itself  so  as  to-  turn  or  swerve 
with  him  ;  otherwise,  the  balance  will  be  lost,  and 
the  rider  be  in  clanger  of  falling,  on  the  side  from 


80         The   Seat  and  Balance. 

which  the  animal  starts.  In  no  case,  let  it  be 
remembered,  should  the  rider  endeavor  to  assist 
herself  in  preserving  her  balance,  by  pulling  at 
the  reins. 

To  acquire  the  balance  the  practice  on  circles, 
or  what  is  called  the  longe,  is  recommended. 
Here  it  is  right  to  begin  on  large  circles,  and  at 
an  easy  gentle  trot,  by  which  the  horse  will  be  so 
little  bent,  as  scarcely  to  make  a  perceptible  alter- 
ation in  the  fundamental  position;  but  as  the 
circles  are  contracted,  and  the  pace  extended,  it 
is  necessary  not  only  for  the  body  to  lean  with  the 
horse,  but  likewise  to  bend  or  be  turned  in  the 
same  direction  as  the  horse's  head,  which,  of  course, 
is  a  little  within  the  circle.  In  doing  this  it  is  use- 
ful to  work  equally  to  both  hands. 

Experience  proves  that  the  body,  if  in  the 
manege  seat  and  fundamental  position,  almost  in- 
voluntarily takes  the  corresponding  motion,  whether 
the  horse  rears,  springs  forward,  kicks,  stumbles,  &c. 


Of  the  Hand.  81 


0f  ii]e  ihtyd. 


On  the  hand  depends  all  excellence  in  horse- 
manship. The  hand  directs  the  action  and  time, 
raises  the  horse's  forehand,  lightens  the  mouth, 
and  supports  the  position.  In  violent  contentions 
with  the  horse,  the  hand  deprives  the  horse  of  half 
of  his  power  to  throw  the  rider;  and  it  would 
otherwise  be  impossible  to  keep  on  the  back  of 
some  horses. 

Before  the  operation  and  effects  of  the  hand 
can  be  attained,  an  expertness  at  holding  the  reins 
must  be  acquired. 

There  are  various  methods  of  holding  the  reins, 
according  to  the  style  of  riding,  the  design  of  the 
rider,  and  the  propensities  or  defences  of  the 
horse. 

Here  we  consider  bridles  which  have  one  rein 
attached  to  each  end  of  the  bit,  such  as  snaffles. 

In  these  as  well  as  in  other  cases,  the  reins 
ought  generally  to  be  separated,  passing  into  the 
hand  between  the  third  and  fourth  fingers  and  out 


82  Of  the  Hand. 

of  it  over  the  forefingers,  where  they  are  held 
down  by  the  thumbs. 

When  the  snaffle  is  held  in  the  common  way, 
both  reins  are  placed  in  the  left  hand.  The  left 
rein  passes  under  the  little  finger  and  the  right 
under  the  third  finger,  both  lying  smooth  through 
the  hand,  the  superfluous  quantity  of  rein  hanging 
over  the  first  joint  of  the  forefinger,  and  the  thumb 
placed  upon  it. 

To  convey  to  the  pupil  an  idea  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  hand  operates  on  the  horse's  mouth, 
she  should  be  placed  on  a  horse  whose  mouth  is 
perfectly  formed  and  obedient,  but  not  too  deli- 
cate ;  the  reins  being  held  as  described ;  the  hand 
placed  so  that  the  ends  of  the  fingers  are  opposite 
to  the  centre  of  the  body,  and  about  the  height 
of  the  elbow :  the  reins  collected  to  such  deter- 
mined length,  that,  bracing  the  muscles  of  the 
hand,  would  rein  the  horse  back  ;  and  easing  them, 
permit  the  horse  freely  to  advance.  The  hand, 
for  preserving  a  medium  effect  on  the  mouth, 
should  be  only  half  shut ; — the  knuckles  next  the 
wrist  being  nearly  open. 

I.  The  hand  being  connected  to  the  reins,  the 
reins  to  the  bit,  the  bit  operating  in  the  curb  on 
the  bars  in  the  horse's  mouth,  and  in  the  snaffle 
on  the  lip,  the  rider  cannot  move  the  hand,  nor 


Of  the   Hand.  83 

scarce  a  finger,  but  the  horse's  mouth  is  more  or 
less  affected.     This  is  called  the  correspondence. 

II.  If  then  the  hand  be  held  steady,  as  the 
horse  advances  in  the  trot,  the  fingers  will  feel,  by 
the  contraction  of  the  reins,  a  slight  tug,  occa- 
sioned by  the  cadence  of  every  step.  This  tug, 
which  is  reciprocally  felt  in  the  horse's  mouth,  by 
means  of  the  above  described  correspondence,  is 
called  the  appui. 

While  this  appui  is  preserved  between  the  hand 
and  mouth,  the  horse  is  in  perfect  obedience  to  the 
rider,  the  hand  directing  him  with  such  ease  that 
the  horse  seems  to  work  by  the  will  of  the  rider, 
rather  than  the  compulsion  of  the  hand. 

Now  the  correspondence,  as  it  is  termed  when 
we  speak  of  the  effective  communication  between 
the  hand  and  mouth, — the  appui,  when  we  speak 
of  the  quality  or  strength  of  the  operation  in  the 
mouth, — the  support,  when  we  speak  of  the  effect 
the  hand  produces  in  the  position  or  action, — are 
always  to  be  maintained  in  the  manage,  and  all 
united  paces  ;  and,  without  these,  a  horse  is  under 
no  immediate  control,  as  we  find  in  the  extended 
gallop  or  full  speed,  where  it  may  require  a  hun- 
dred yards  to  pull,  before  you  can  stop. 

The  strength  or  degree  of  this  appui  (allowing 
for  the  different  qualities  of  horses'  mouths,)  de- 


84  Of  the  Hand. 

pends  on  the  relative  situation  of  the  hand,  and 
position  of  the  horse. 

The  raising  of  the  rider's  hand  increases  her 
power ;  and  this,  raising  the  horse's  head,  dimin- 
ishes its  power. 

If  a  garter  were  placed  across  the  pupil's  fore- 
head, and  a  person  behind  her  held  the  two  ends 
in  a  horizontal  direction,  if  the  pupil  stood  quite 
upright,  she  could  not  pull  at  the  person's  hand, 
nor  endure  the  person's  hand  to  pull  at  her,  with- 
out falling  or  running  backwards.  This  is  the 
situation  of  a  horse  when  united. 

Accordingly  when  the  pupil  felt  the  hand  severe, 
or  expected  it  to  pull,  she  would  guard  against  it, 
by  bending  the  body,  projecting  the  head,  and 
planting  one  foot  behind.  This  is  the  situation  of 
the  horse  when  disunited,  or  defending  himself 
against  the  heaviness  of  the  hand. 

Hence  a  heavy  insensible  hand  cannot  unite  a 
horse,  because  the  horse  cannot  bear  its  severity 
when  united.  And  hence  heavy  hands  make  hard 
mouthed  horses. 

If  then  the  appui  be  heavy  from  the  head  being 
carried  too  low,  and  the  horse  not  sufficiently 
united,  raise  the  hand,  and  let  the  fingers,  by 
moving,  rather  invite  than  compel  the  head  to  rise ; 
the  left  leg  on  one  side  and  the  whip  gently  laid 


Op  the  Hand.  85 

on  the  other  at  the  same  time,  pressing  the 
haunches  under.  By  this  means  the  horse  will 
become  more  united,  and  the  appui  will  be  light- 
ened. 

Should  the  hand  be  too  straight,  or  confining  to 
the  horse  (which  it  may  be,  though  it  does  not  pull 
half  ah  ounce)  by  the  rider  collecting  the  reins  to 
unite  the  horse,  and  the  horse  freely  uniting  him- 
self, he  may  become  so  balanced  on  his  haunches, 
that,  while  the  hand  supports  him  thus,  though  it 
do  not  pull  in  the  least,  he  cannot  disunite  himself, 
nor  advance  one  step ;  and  should  the  rider  then 
press  him  without  yielding  or  dropping  the  hand, 
she  would  compel  him  to  rear. 

By  these  two  extremes  may  be  understood,  first, 
where  the  horse  is  disunited ;  and  last,  where  he 
is  too  much  united.  The  intermediate  conse- 
quence and  effect  of  the  hand  and  heel  must  be 
acquired  by  practice. 

In  pulling  the  bridle,  if  the  lady  pull  more  than 
at  the  rate  of  a  pound  weight,  she  may  be  said  to 
carry  her  horse,  and  not  the  horse  her. 

QUALITIES   OF  THE  HAND. 

There  are  many  properties  requisite  to  consti- 
tute a  masterly  hand.     That  is  called  a  masterly 
8 


86  Oe  the  Hand. 

hand  which  is  not  only  well  formed  in  itself  by 
tuition,  and  riding  manege  horses,  but  can  make 
the  untutored  mouth  partake  of  the  sensibility  of 
the  hand,  which,  in  other  terms,  is  dressing  the 
horse. 

Three  qualities  are  essentially  necessary  to 
such  a  hand.  It  ought  to  be  firm,  gentle,-  and 
light. 

I.  That  may  be  called  a  firm  or  steady  hand 
whose  feeling  corresponds  exactly  with  the  feeling 
in  the  horse's  mouth.  This  demands  a  certain 
degree  of  steadiness,  and  constitutes  that  just  cor- 
respondence between  the  hand  and  the  horse's 
mouth,  which  every  horseman  wishes  to  find. 

Such  a  hand  will  not  yield  to  the  solicitation  or 
craving  of  the  horse  to  get  the  ascendency  of  the 
hand ;  for  an  ascendancy  of  the  hand  is  obtained 
when  the  horse  abandons  that  delicate  correspon- 
dence producing  the  appui,  and  keeping  him  under 
the  strictest  obedience,  and  makes  a  dull -or  insen- 
sible pull  on  the  hand.  And  horses,  though  they 
have  been  ever  so  well  broke,  after  being  rode  a 
few  times  by  an  untutored  hand,  will  fall  into  this, 
if  permitted. 

To  frustrate  the  little  efforts  of  the  horse  to  ob- 
tain his  purpose,  the  hand  is  kept  firm,  and  the 
fingers  braced,  by  which  their  operation  becomes 


Of  the  Hand.  87 

severe,  and  is  a  proper  punishment.  Should  the 
horse  disregard  this,  and  plant  his  head  low,  to 
endure  the  severity  of  the  hand,  the  hand  must 
act  by  moving  the  fingers,  shaking  the  reins,  &c, 
to  raise  the  head  and  divert  him  from  his  purpose ; 
and  lastly,  the  correction  of  the  hand  must  be 
given  severely,  if  necessary,  to  deter  him  from 
further  attempts.  This  correction  is  given  by  first 
yielding  the  hand  that  the  reins  may  become  slack, 
then  giving  them  a  smart  or  violent  snatch  in  an 
upward  direction,  which  will  make  the  horse  raise 
his  head ;  and  the  apprehension  of  a  repetition  of 
it  will  deter  him  from  putting  it  down  again. 

II.  An  easy  or  gentle  hand  is  that  which,  by 
relaxing  a  little  of  its  strength  and  firmness,  eases 
and  mitigates  the  degree  of  feeling  between  the 
hand  and  horse's  mouth. 

It  is  a  rule  in  this  respect  not  to  pass,  at  once, 
from  one  extreme  to  another,  as  from  a  firm  hand 
to  a  slack  one,  or  to  jump  over  that  degree  of  sen- 
sation which  is  derived  from  the  easy  or  gentle 
hand.  Were  the  rider  at  once  to  go  from  a  firm 
hand  to  a  slack  one,  she  would  entirely  abandon 
her  horse,  she  would  surprise  him,  deprive  him  of 
the  support  he  trusted  to,  and  precipitate  her  on 
his  shoulders.  On  the  contrary,  were  she  to  pass 
from  the  slack  to  the  tight  rein  all  at  once,  she 


88  Of  the  Hand. 

must  jerk  her  hand,  and  give  a  violent  shock  to 
the  horse's  mouth : — rough  and  irregular  motions 
which  would  be  sufficient  to  falsify  the  firmest  ap- 
pui,  and  to  ruin  a  good  mouth. 

The  hand,  moreover,  must  be  sensible  and  dis- 
criminating whether  the  horse  wishes  to  disengage 
himself  from  its  restrictions,  or  whether  he  wants 
a  momentary  liberty  for  his  accommodation  and 
ease.  He  will  remove  the  rider's  hand  if  he  wants 
to  cough ;  he  will  move  his  head  if  cramped  by 
too  long  confinement,  or  to  dislodge  a  fly,  and  the 
like.  The  rider,  discovering  the  cause  of  such 
removal,  will  not  correct  (unless  the  horse,  pre- 
suming on  her  compliance,  takes  too  much  liberty,) 
but  rather  allow  a  reasonable  accommodation,  and 
be  gentle  and  pleasant  while  the  horse  is  united 
and  obedient. 

III.  A  light  hand  is  that  which  lessens  still  more 
the  feeling  between  the  rider's  hand  and  the  horse's 
mouth,  which  was  before  moderated  by  the  gentle 
hand. 

The  appui  being  always  in  the  same  degree,  would 
heat  the  mouth,  would  dull  the  sense  of  feeling, 
would  deaden  the  horse's  bars,,  and  render  them 
insensible  and  callous.  Lightness  of  hand  con- 
sists, then,  in  an  almost  imperceptible  alternate 


Of  the  Hand.  89 

feeling  and  easing  of  the  bridle,  regulated  by  the 
motion  of  the  horse. 

By  proper  attention  to  this  practice,  the  natural 
delicacy  and  feeling  of  the  horse's  mouth  will  be 
preserved, — the  rider's  hand  will  be  gradually 
formed, — and  a  constant  correspondence  between 
the  horse  and  the  rider  will  be  established.  On 
the  contrary,  any  dead  or  continued  pull  will  pro- 
duce effects  directly  opposite  to  those  desired. 

It  is  indispensably  necessary,  therefore,  that  all 
the  operations  of  the  hand  should  be  firm,  gentle, 
and  light ;  and,  in  order  to  this,  it  is  necessary 
that  the  wrist  alone  should  direct  all  its  motions 
by  steering  it,  if  we  may  so  say,  through  every 
motion  which  it  is  to  make. 


8* 


90  Aids  and   Defences 


fUds  ^3   Defences. 


All  sucli  motions  of  the  body,  the  hands,  the 
legs,  and  the  whip,  as  either  indicate  the  rider's 
wishes,  or,  in  some  degree,  assist  the  horse  to  fulfil 
them,  are,  in  the  art  of  riding,  denominated  aids; 
and  those  movements  of  the  rider  which  tend  to 
save  the  animal  from  disuniting  himself,  or  running 
into  danger,  may,  properly  enough,  be  classed 
under  the  same  title:  while  such  as  act  for  the 
preservation  of  the  rider,  against  the  attempts  of 
the  horse,  when  headstrong  or  vicious,  are  termed 
defences. 

The  aids  of  the  hand  are  considered  the  most 
important :  all  the  other  actions  of  the  rider  tend- 
ing, principally,  to  assist  the  bridle-hand  and  carry 
its  operations  into  complete  effect.  There  should 
be  a  perfect  harmony  in  the  aids ;  and  all  of  them 
ought  to  be  governed  by  those  of  the  rein.  In 
many  instances,  the  power  of  a  movement  per- 
formed by  the  hand  may  be  destroyed  by  the 
omission  of  a  correct  accompanying  aid  or  defence, 


Aids  and   Defences.  91 

with  the  body,  or  the  leg.  Thus  :— if  a  horse  rear, 
it  is  useless  for  the  rider  to  afford  him  a  slack  rein, 
if  she  do  not  also  lean  forward,  in  order,  by  throw- 
ing her  weight  on  his  fore-parts,  to  bring  him  down, 
and  also  to  save  herself  from  falling  backward  over 
his  haunches.  Should  the  rider,  Tvhen  her  horse 
rises,  slacken  the  reins,  but  retain  her  usual  posi- 
tion on  the  saddle,  if  he  rear  high,  she  must  neces- 
sarily be  thrown  off  her  balance ;  and  then,  if  she 
hang  on  the  bit,  in  order  to  save  herself  from  fall- 
ing, there  is  great  danger  of  her  pulling  the  horse 
backward. 

The  aids  and  defences  of  the  body  are  numerous  : 
we  shall  attempt  to  describe  a  few  of  them ;  the 
residue  must  be  acquired  by  practice,  and  the 
lady's  own  observation.  When  the  rider  indicates 
by  her  hand  that  she  wishes  the  horse  to  advance, 
the  body  should  be  inclined  forward  in  a  slight 
degree ;  and  the  left  leg  (with  the  whip,  also,  if 
the  animal  be  sluggish,  or  not  well  trained)  pressed 
to  his  side.  Should  she,  by  pulling  the  rein  to- 
wards her,  or  turning  the  wrist  in  the  manner  we 
have  before  directed,  communicate  her  desire  to 
stop,  her  body  ought,  at  the  same  time,  to  be 
thrown  back,  with  gentleness,  or  otherwise,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  severity  of  the  action  of  the  hand 
against  the  horse's  inclination  to  increase  his  speed 


92  Aids  and  Defences. 

contrary  to  the  will  of  his  rider,  or  when  he  leaps, 
kicks,  or  plunges.  If  a  horse  rear,  the  rider 
should  lean  forward  more  than  in  the  aid  for  the 
advance :  but  care  must  be  taken,  in  this  case,  to 
perform  the  defence  with  discretion,  especially 
with  a  pony,  or  gallaway ;  for,  should  the  animal 
rise  suddenly,  and  the  rider  throw  herself  abruptly 
forward,  it  is  not  improbable  that  he  might  give 
her  a  violent  blow  on  the  face  with  the  top  of  his 
head. 

We  have  already  mentioned,  in  a  previous  part 
of  our  treatise,  the  direction  which  the  body  should 
take  when  riding  in  a  circle,  turning  a  corner,  or 
acting  as  a  defence  against  the  danger  attendant 
upon  a  horse's  shying.  In  the  first  case,  the  aid 
of  the  body,  if  properly  performed,  will  carry  with 
it  the  aid  of  the  hand,  the  leg,  and  even  the  whip, 
if  it  be  held  near  the  horse's  side.  We  will  ex- 
plain this  by  an  example :  —  Suppose  the  rider 
wishes  to  turn  a  corner  on  her  left;  she  inclines  a 
little  towards  it,  drawing  her  left  shoulder  in,  and 
thrusting  her  right  shoulder  rather  forward :  the 
bridle-hand  will  thus  be  drawn  back  on  the  near 
side,  the  off  rein  will  consequently  act  on  the 
horse's  neck,  and  the  left  leg  be  pressed  close 
against  the  near  side ;  so  that  all  the  necessary 


Aids  and   Defences.  93 

aids  for  effecting  her  object,  are  performed  by  one 
natural  and  easy  movement. 

The  aids  of  the  whip,  on  one  side,  correspond 
with  those  of  the  leg,  on  the  other :  they  are  not 
only  used  in  the  manner  we  have  already  men- 
tioned, when  the  rider  wishes  her  horse  to  ad- 
vance, or  increase  his  pace,  but  also  in  clearing  a 
corner,  &c.  If  the  lady  be  desirous  of  turning 
to  the  left,  she  may  materially  aid  the  operation 
of  the  hand,  which  directs  the  foreparts  of  the 
horse  to  the  near  side,  by  pressing  him  with  her 
stirrup  leg,  so  as  to  throw  his  croup  in  some 
degree  to  the  right,  and  thereby  place  it  in  a 
more  proper  position  to  follow  the  direction  of 
his  shoulders.  In  turning  to  the  right,  the  whip 
may  be  made  equally  useful  by  driving  out  his 
croup  to  the  left.  The  power  of  these  aids,  es- 
pecially that  of  the  whip,  should  be  increased 
as  circumstances  require.  The  aid  which  is  suf- 
ficient for  some  horses,  may  not  be  powerful 
enough  by  half  for  others :  and  even  with  the 
same  animal,  while  the  slightest  pressure  will 
produce  the  desired  effect  in  some  cases,  a  mode- 
rate, or,  even,  a  rather  severe,  lash  with  the  whip 
is  necessary  in  others. 


94  Soothings,  Animations,  Etc 


§ooff(iii|gg,    ftif}lft)01oif}s,  &c« 


The  voice  and  the  hand,  the  leg,  and  the  whole 
body,  may  be  employed  to  soothe  and  encourage. 
High-mettled  or  fretful  horses,  it  is  often  neces- 
sary to  soothe,  and  timid  ones  to  encourage.  A 
spirited  animal  is  frequently  impatient  when  first 
mounted,  or,  if  a  horse  or  a  carriage  pass  him  at 
a  quick  rate ;  and  some  horses  are  even  so  ardent 
and  animated,  as  to  be  unpleasant  to  ride  when 
with  others.  In  either  of  these  cases,  the  rider 
should  endeavor  to  soothe  her  horse,  by  speaking 
to  him  in  a  calm,  gentle  tone.  She  should  suffer 
the  whip  to  be  as  motionless  as  possible,  and  take 
even  more  than  usual  care  that  its  lash  do  not 
touch  the  flank.  Her  seat  should  be  easy,  her  leg 
still,  and  her  bridle-hand  steady.  The  bit  should 
not  be  made  to  press  on  the  horse's  mouth  with 
greater  severity  than  is  necessary  to  maintain  the 
rider's  command;  and,  as  the  horse  gradually 
subsides  from  his  animation,  its  bearing  should  be 
proportionately  relaxed.     The  perfection  of  sooth- 


Soothings,   Animations,   Etc.   95 

ing  consists  in  the  rider's  sitting  so  entirely  still 
and  easy,  as  not  to  add  in  the  least  to  the  horse's 
animation ; — at  the  same  time  being  on  her  guard, 
so  as  to  be  able  to  effect  any  of  her  defences  in  an 
instant,  should  occasion  render  them  needful. 

There  is  scarcely  any  difference  between  sooth- 
ings and  encouragements ;  except  that,  in  the  latter, 
it  is  advisable  to  pat,  and,  as  it  were,  caress  the 
horse  with  the  right  hand,  holding  the  whip  in  the 
left.  A  shy  or  timid  horse  may  often  be  encour- 
aged to  pass  an  object  that  alarms  him,  to  cross  a 
bridge,  enter  a  gateway,  or  take  a  leap,  when 
force  and  correction  would  add  only  to  his  fear, 
and,  perhaps,  render  him  incorrigibly  obstinate. 

Animations  are  intended  to  produce  greater 
speed,  or,  to  render  the  horse  more  lively  and  on 
the  alert,  without  increasing  his  pace.  Some  ani- 
mals scarcely  ever  require  animation  ;  while  others 
are  so  dull  and  deficient  in  mettle  as  to  call  them 
frequently  into  use.  The  slightest  movement  of 
the  body,  the  hand,  or  the  leg,  is  enough  to  rouse 
the  well-bred  and  thoroughly-trained  animal ;  but 
it  is  necessary  for  the  animations  to  be  so  spirited 
and  united,  with  sluggish  horses,  as  almost  to  be- 
come corrections :  in  fact,  what  is  a  mere  anima- 
tion to  one  horse,  would  be  a  positive  correction  to 
another. 


96  Soothings,   Animations,  Etc. 

The  aids  of  the  hand,  the  whip,  the  leg,  and  the 
body,  which  we  have  before  described,  are  anima- 
tions ;  so  also,  are  pattings  with  the  hand,  the 
tones  of  the  voice,  &c.  Animations  should  be 
used  in  all  cases,~when  the  horse,  contrary  to  the 
rider's  inclination,  either  decreases  his  speed, 
droops  his  head,  bears  heavily  and  languidly  on 
the  bit,  or,  begins  to  be  lazy  or  slovenly  in  the 
performance  of  his  paces.  A  good  rider  foresees 
the  necessity  of  an  animation  before  the  horse 
actually  abates  his  speed,  or  loses  the  ensemble 
of  his  action,  and  the  grace  and  spirit  of  his  de- 
portment. It  is  much  easier  to  keep  up,  than  to 
restore,  a  horse's  animation :  therefore,  the  whip, 
the  leg,  the  hand,  or  the  tongue,  should  do  its 
office  a  few  moments  before,  rather  than  at,  the 
moment  when  its  movements  are  indispensable. 

A  slight  motion  of  the  fingers  of  the  bridle-hand 
serves  as  an  excellent  animation :  it  reminds  the 
horse  of  his  duty,  awakens  the  sensibility  of  his 
mouth,  and  preserves  a  proper  correspondence  be- 
tween that  and  the  hand. 


Corrections.  97 


GoWecttoifs. 


Ladies  certainly  ought  not  to  ride  horses  which 
require  extraordinary  correction.  For  numerous 
reasons,  which  must  occur  to  our  readers,  a  lady 
should  never  be  seen  in  the  act  of  positively  flog- 
ging her  steed :  such  a  sight  would  destroy  every 
previous  idea  that  had  been  formed  of  her  grace 
or  gentleness.  Moderate  corrections  are,  however, 
sometimes  necessary;  and  the  fair  rider  should 
make  no  scruple  of  having  recourse  to  them  when 
absolutely  needful,  but  not  otherwise.  Astley,  in 
his  work  on  the  management  of  the  horse,  after 
very  properly  recommending  all  quarrels  between 
the  steed  and  his  rider  to  be  avoided,  observes, 
that  too  much  indulgence  may  induce  the  horse  to 
consider  "that  you  are  afraid  of  him;"  and,  our 
author  adds,  "if  he  should  once  think  you  are 
really  so,  you  will  find  he  will  exercise  every  means 
to  convince  you  that  he  considers  himself  your 
master,  instead  of  acknowledging,  by  implicit  obe- 
dience, that  you  are  his." 
9  G 


98  Corrections. 

Those,  who  imagine  that  a  horse  is  to  be  cor- 
rected only  with  the  whip,  are  very  much  mistaken. 
The  aids  and  animations  of  the  leg,  the  bridle- 
hand,  the  body,  and  the  voice,  may  be  made  suffi- 
ciently severe  to  correct  and  render  a  horse  obedi- 
ent in  all  ordinary  cases.  Severe  flogging  seldom 
produces  any  good  effect;  and,  in  most  contests 
between  a  horse  and  his  rider,  when  both  get  out  of 
temper,  the  former  usually  gains  some  important 
advantage.  The  best  way  to  correct  a  horse  is  to 
dishearten,  and  make  him  do  what  he  would  fain 
avoid ; — not  so  much  by  force  and  obstinate  reso- 
lution, in  contesting  openly  and  directly  with  him, 
when  he  is  perfectly  prepared  to  resist,  as,  by  a 
cool  opposition  and  indirect  means.  There  are 
different  methods  of  attaining  the  same  end ;  and 
those  which  are  the  least  obvious  to  the  animal 
should  be  adopted;  a  lady  cannot  rival  him  in 
physical  strength,  but  she  may  conquer  him  by 
mere  ingenuity,  or  subdue  him  by  a  calm,  deter- 
mined assumption  of  superior  power. 

Corrections  are  of  two  sorts,  You  may  punish 
a  horse  with  the  whip ;  you  may  punish  him  by 
keeping  him  in  a  greater  degree  of  subjection. 
In  all  cases,  a  sensible  rider  will  endeavor  rather 
to  work  upon  the  understanding  of  the  creature, 
than  upon  thedifferent  parts  of  his  body. 


Corrections.  99 

In  reality,  the  corrections  which  reduce  a  horse 
to  the  greatest  obedience,  and  which  yet  dishearten 
him  the  least,  are  such  as  are  not  severe  ;  but  such 
as  oppose  him  in  what  he  wants  to  do,  by  restrain- 
ing and  putting  him  to  do  directly  the  contrary. 
If  your  horse  do  not  advance,  or  go  off  readily,  or 
if  he  be  sluggish,  make  him  go  sideways,  some- 
times to  one  hand,  sometimes  to  the  other ;  drive 
him  forward,  and  so  alternately.  If  he  go  for- 
ward too  fast,  being  extremely  quick  of  feeling, 
moderate  your  aids,  and  make  him  go  backward 
some  steps :  if  he  press  forward  with  hurry  and 
violence,  make  him  go  backward  a  great  deal.  If 
he  is  disorderly  and  turbulent,  walk  him  straight 
forward,  with  his  head  in  and  croup  out.  These 
sorts  of  correction  have  great  influence  upon  most 
horses. 


100  Vices. 


3i!ces. 


Some  horses  are  addicted  to  a  very  troublesome 
and  vicious  habit  of  turning  round  suddenly, — we 
do  not  here  allude  to  shyness,  but  restiveness, — 
without  exhibiting  any  previous  symptom  of  their 
intention.  A  horse  soon  ascertains  that  the  left 
hand  is  weaker  than  the  right,  and  consequently 
less  able  to  oppose  him ;  he  therefore  turns  on  the 
off  side,  and  with  such  force  and  suddenness,  that 
it  is  almost  impossible,  even  if  the  rider  be  pre- 
pared for  the  attack,  to  prevent  him. 

In  this  case,  it  would  be  unwise  to  make  the 
attempt :  the  rider  would  be  foiled,  and  the  horse 
become  encouraged,  by  his  success  in  the  struggle, 
to  make  similar  endeavors  to  have  his  own  way,  or 
dismount  his  rider.  The  better  plan  is,  instead  of 
endeavoring  to  prevent  him  from  turning  with  the 
left  hand,  to  pull  him  sharply  with  the  right,  until 
his  head  has  made  a  complete  circle,  and  he  finds, 
to  his  astonishment,  that  he  is  precisely  in  the 
place  from  which  he  started. 


Vices.  101 

Should  he  repeat  the  turn,  on  the  rider's  at- 
tempting to  urge  him  on,  she  should  pull  him 
round,  on  the  same  side  three  or  four  times,  and 
assist  the  power  of  the  hand  in  so  doing,  by  a 
smart  aid  of  the  whip  or  the  leg.  While  this  is 
doing,  she  must  take,  care  to  preserve  her  balance, 
by  an  inclination  of  her  body  to  the  centre  of  the 
circle  described  by  the  horse's  head. 

The  same  plan  may  be  pursued  when  a  horse 
endeavors  to  turn  a  corner,  contrary  to  the  wish 
of  his  rider;  and  if  he  be  successfully  baffled, 
three  or  four  times,  it  is  most  probable  that  he  will 
not  renew  his  endeavors. 

On  the  same  principle,  when  a  horse  refuses  to 
advance,  and  whipping  would  increase  his  obsti- 
nacy or  make  him  rear,  or  bolt  away  in  a  different 
direction,  it  is  advisable  to  make  him  walk  back- 
ward, until  he  evinces  a  willingness  to  advance. 

A  runaway  might,  in  many  instances,  be  cured 
of  his  vice  by  being  suffered  to  gallop  unchecked, 
and  being  urged  forward,  when  he  showed  an  in- 
clination to  abate  his  speed,  rather  than  by  at- 
tempting to  pull  him  in :  but  this  remedy  is,  in 
most  situations,  dangerous,  even  for  men :  and  all 
other  means  should  be  tried  before  it  is  resorted 
to  by  a  lady.  Should  our  fair  young  reader  have 
the  misfortune  to  be  mounted  on  a  runaway,  she 
9* 


102  Vices. 

may  avoid  evil  consequences,  if  she  can  contrive 
to  retain  her  self-possession,  and  act  as  we  are 
about  to  direct.  She  must  endeavor  to  maintain 
her  seat,  at  all  hazards,  and  to  preserve  the  best 
balance,  or  position  of  body,  to  carry  her  defences 
into  operation.  The  least  symptom  of  alarm,  on 
her  part,  will  increase  the  terror  or  determination 
of  the  horse.  A  dead  heavy  pull  at  the  bridle 
will  rather  aid  him  than  otherwise,  in  his  speed, 
and  prevent  her  from  having  sufficient  mastery 
over  his  mouth  and  her  own  hands  to  guide  him. 
She  must  therefore,  hold  the  reins  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  keep  the  horse  together  when  at  the 
height  of  his  pace,  and  to  guide  him  from  running 
against  anything  in  his  course;  and,  it  is  most 
probable  that  he  will  soon  abate  his  speed,  and 
gradually  subside  into  a  moderate  pace.  Sawing 
the  mouth  (that  is,  pulling  each  rein  alternately) 
will  frequently  bring  a  horse  up,  in  a  few  minutes. 
Slackening  the  reins  for  an  instant  and  then  jerk- 
ing them  with  force,  may  also  produce  a  similar 
effect:  but,  if  the  latter  mode  be  adopted,  the 
rider  must  take  care  that  the  horse,  by  stopping 
suddenly,  do  not  bring  her  on  his  neck,  or  throw 
her  over  his  head. 

In  whatever  manner  the  runaway  be  stopped,  it 


Vices.  103 

is  advisable  for  the  lady  to  be  on  the  alert,  lest  he 
should  become  so  disunited,  by  the  operation,  as 
to  fall. 

Our  readers  may  think,  perhaps,  that  this  advice, 
however  easy  to  give,  is  difficult  to  follow :  we  beg 
leave,  however,  to  tell  them,  that  although  it  is 
not  so  easy  as  drawing  on  a  glove,  or  replacing  a 
stray  curl,  it  is  much  more  practicable  than  they 
may  imagine ;  though,  we  trust,  they  may  never 
have  occasion  to  put  it  to  the  proof. 

There  is  another  situation,  in  which  it  is  advis- 
able to  force  the  horse,  apparently  to  have  his  own 
way,  in  order  to  baffle  his  attempts.  Restive 
horses,  or  even  docile  animals,  when  put  out  of 
temper,  sometimes  endeavor  to  crush  their  riders' 
legs  against  walls,  gates,  trees,  posts,  &c.  An 
inexperienced  lady,  under  such  circumstances, 
would  strive  to  pull  the  horse  away ;  but  her  ex- 
ertions would  be  unavailing;  the  animal  would 
feel  that  he  could  master  the  opposition,  and  thus 
discovering  the  rider's  weakness  turn  it  to  her  dis- 
advantage on  future  occasions.  We  cannot  too 
often  repeat,  that,  although  a  rider  should  not 
desist  until  she  have  subdued  her  horse,  she  must 
never  enter  into  an  open,  undisguised  contest  with 
him.     It  is  useless  to  attack  him  on  a  point  which 


104  Vices. 

he  is  resolute  in  defending:  the  assault  should 
rather  be  directed  to  his  weaker  side.  If  he  for- 
tify himself  in  one  place,  he  must  proportionately 
diminish  his  powers  of  defence  in  another.  He 
anticipates  and  prepares  to  resist  any  attempt  to 
overcome  him  on  his  strong  side  ;  and  his  astonish- 
ment at  being  attacked  on  the  other,  and  with  suc- 
cess, on  account  of  his  weakness  in  that  quarter, 
goes  far  to  dishearten  and  subdue  him.  If  he 
plant  himself  in  a  position  of  resistance  against 
being  forced  to  advance,  it  is  a  matter  of  very  little 
difficulty  to  make  him  go  back.  If  he  appear  to 
be  determined  not  to  go  to  the  right,  the  rider 
may,  on  account  of  the  mode  in  which  he  disposes 
his  body  and  limbs,  turn  him,  with  great  facility, 
to  the  left.  If  he  stand  stock-still,  and  will  not 
move  in  any  direction,  his  crime  may  be  made  his 
punishment:  the  rider,  in  such  case,  should  sit 
patiently  until  he  show  a  disposition  to  advance, 
which  he  probably  will  in  a  very  short  time,  when 
he  discovers  that  she  is  not  annoyed  by  his  stand- 
ing still.  Nothing  will  subdue  a  horse  so  soon  as 
this  mode  of  turning  his  attacks  against  himself, 
and  making  his  defences  appear  acts  of  obedience 
to  the  rider's  inclination.  When,  therefore,  a 
horse  viciously  runs  on  one  side  towards  a  wall, 


Vices.  105 

pull  his  head  forcibly  in  the  same  direction ;  and, 
if,  by  the  aid  of  the  leg  or  whip,  you  can  drive  his 
croup  out,  you  may  succeed  in  backing  him  com- 
pletely away  from  it.  It  is  by  no  means  improb- 
able, that  when  he  finds  that  his  rider  is  inclined 
to  go  to  the  wall  as  well  as  himself,  he  will  desist. 
Should  he  not,  his  croup  may  be  so  turned,  out- 
ward, that  he  cannot  do  his  rider  any  mischief. 

In  shying,  the  same  principle  may  be  acted 
upon,  more  advantageously,  perhaps  than  in  any 
other  case.  Should  the  lady's  horse  be  alarmed 
at  any  object,  and,  instead  of  going  up  to,  or  pass- 
ing it,  turn  round,  the  rider  should  manage  him  as 
we  have  recommended  in  cases  where  the  horse 
turns,  through  restiveness.  He  should  then  be 
soothed  and  encouraged,  rather  than  urged  by  cor- 
rection, to  approach  or  pass,  the  object  that  alarms 
him :  to  attempt  to  force  him  up  to  it  would  be 
ridiculous  and  dangerous.  If  the  horse  swerve 
from  an  object,  and  try  to  pass  it  at  a  brisk  rate, 
it  is  useless  to  pull  him  towards  it :  for,  if  you  suc- 
ceed in  bringing  his  head  on  one  side,  his  croup 
will  be  turned  outward,  and  his  legs  work  in  an 
opposite  direction.  This  resistance  will  increase 
proportionately  to  the  exertions  made  by  the  rider. 
A  horse  in  this  manner  may  fly  from  imaginary, 


106  Vices. 

into  real  danger ;  for  he  cannot  see  where  he  is 
going,  nor  what  he  may  run  against.  Pulling  in 
the  rein,  therefore,  on  the  side  from  which  the 
horse  shies,  is. improper  ;  it  should  rather  be  slack- 
ened and  the  horse's  head  turned  away  from  the 
object  which  terrifies  him.  By  this  mode,  a  triple 
advantage  is  gained  :  in  the  first  place,  the  horse's 
attention  is  diverted  to  other  things  ;  secondly, — 
the  dreaded  object  loses  half  its  terror  when  he 
finds  no  intention  manifested  on  the  rider's  part  to 
force  him  nearer  to  it ;  and,  lastly, — he  is  enabled 
to  see,  and,  consequently,  avoid  any  danger  in 
front,  or  on  the  other  side  of  him. 

A  horse  may  be  coaxed  and  encouraged  to  go 
up  to  the  object  that  alarms  him  ;  and,  if  the  rider 
succeed  in  making  him  approach  it,  a  beneficial 
effect  will  be  produced:  the  horse  will  discover 
that  his  fears  were  groundless,  and  be  less  likely 
to  start  again  from  any  similar  cause.  After  the 
first  impulse  of  terror  has  subsided,  the  animal,  if 
properly  managed,  will  even  manifest  an  inclina- 
tion to  approach  and  examine  the  object  that 
alarmed  him :  but,  while  he  is  so  doing,  the  rider 
must  be  on  her  guard ;  for  the  least  movement,  or 
timidity,  on  her  part, — the  rustling  of  a  leaf,  or 
the  passing  of  a  shadow, — will,  in  all  probability, 


Vices.  107 

frighten  him  again,  and  he  will  start  round  more 
violently  than  before.  After  this,  it  will  be  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  to  bring  him  up  to  the  object. 
Astley,  however,  whom  we  have  before  quoted, 
says,  that  should  the  first  trial  prove  unsuccessful, 
it  must  be  repeated,  until  you  succeed ;  adding, 
that  the  second  attempt  should  not  be  made  until 
the  horse's  fears  have  subsided,  and  his  confidence 
returned. 

A  horse  that  is  rather  shy,  may,  in  many  cases, 
be  prevented  from  starting,  by  the  rider  turning 
his  head  a  little  away  from  those  objects,  which, 
she  knows  by  experience,  are  likely  to  alarm  him, 
as  well  before  she  approaches  as  while  she  passes 
them. 

A  lady,  certainly,  should  not  ride  a  horse  ad- 
dicted to  shying,  stumbling,  rearing,  or  any  other 
vice :  but  she  ought,  nevertheless,  to  be  prepared 
against  the  occurrence  of  either;  for,  however 
careful  and  judicious  those  persons,  by  whom  her 
horse  is  selected,  may  be,  and  however  long  a  trial 
she  may  have  had  of  his  temper  and  merits,  she 
cannot  be  sure,  when  she  takes  the  reins,  that  she 
may-not  have  to  use  her  defences  against  rearing 
or  kicking,  or  be  required  to  exercise  her  skill  to 
save  herself  from  the  dangers  attendant  on  start- 


108  Vices. 

ing  or  stumbling,  before  she  dismounts.  The 
quietest  horse  may  exhibit  symptoms  of  vice,  even 
without  any  apparent  cause,  after  many  years  of 
good  behavior  ;  the  best-tempered,  are  not  im- 
maculate, nor  the  surest-footed  infallible :  it  is 
wise,  therefore,  to  be  prepared. 

Stumbling  is  not  merely  unpleasant,  but  danger- 
ous. To  ride  a  horse  that  is  apt  to  trip,  is  like 
dwelling  in  a  ruin :  we  cannot  be  comfortable  if 
we  feel  that  we  are  unsafe ;  and,  truly,  there  is 
no  safety  on  the  back  of  a  stumbling  nag.  The 
best  advice  we  can  offer  our  reader,  as  to  such  an 
animal,  is  never  to  ride  him  after  his  demerits  are 
discovered :  although  the  best  horse  in  the  world, 
may,  we  must  confess,  make  a  false  step,  and  even 
break  his  knees. 

When  a  horse  trips,  his  head  should  be  raised 
and  supported,  by  elevating  the  hand;  and  the 
lady  should  instantly  throw  herself  back,  so  as  to 
relieve  his  shoulders  from  her  weight.  It  is  use- 
less to  whip  a  horse  after  stumbling  (as  it  is,  also, 
after  shying;)  for,  it  is  clear,  he  would  not  run 
the  risk  of  breaking  his  knees,  or  his  nose,  if  he 
could  help  it.  If  a  horse  be  constantly  punished 
for  stumbling,  the  moment  he  has  recovered  from 
a  false  step,  he  will  start  forward,  flurried  and  dis- 


Vices.  109 

united,  in  fear  of  the  whip,  and  not  only  put  the 
rider  to  inconvenience,  but  run  the  risk  of  a  repe- 
tition of  his  mishap,  before  he  regains  his  self-pos- 
session. It  being  generally  the  practice, — and  a 
very  bad  practice  it  is, — for  riders  to  correct  horses 
after  having  made  a  false  step,  an  habitual  stum- 
bler  may  be  easily  detected.  When  a  horse,  that 
is  tolerably  safe,  makes  a  false  step,  he  gathers 
himself  up,  and  is  slightly  animated  for  a  moment 
or  two  only,  or  goes  on  as  if  nothing  had  hap- 
pened ;  but  if  he  be  an  old  offender,  he  will  re- 
member the  punishment  he  has  repeatedly  received 
immediately  after  a  stumble,  and  dash  forward  in 
the  manner  we  have  described,  expecting  the  usual 
flagellation  for  his  misfortune. 

When  a  horse  evinces  any  disposition  to  kick, 
or  rear,  the  reins  should  be  separated,  and  held  by 
both  hands,  in  the  manner  we  have  described  in  a 
previous  page.  This  should  also  be  done  when  he 
attempts  to  run  away,  grows  restive  or  shies.  The 
body  should  also  be  put  in  its  proper  balance  for 
performing  the  defences :  the  shoulders  should  be 
thrown  back,  the  waist  brought  forward,  and  the 
head  well  poised  on  the  neck.  Every  part  of  the 
frame  must  be  flexible,  but  perfectly  ready  for 
action. 
10 


110  Vices. 

The  principal  danger  attendant  on  the  horse's 
rearing  is,  that  the  rider  may  fall  over  the  croup, 


and,  perhaps,  pull  the  horse  backward  upon  her. 
To  prevent  either  of  these  consequences,  immedi- 
ately that  a  horse  rises,  slacken  the  reins,  and 
bend  the  body  forward,  so  as  to  throw  its  weight 
on  his  shoulders ;  and  the  moment  his  fore-feet 
come  to  the  ground, — having  recovered  your  posi- 
tion, gradually,  as  he  descends,  —  correct  him 
smartly,  if  he  will  bear  it;  or,  endeavor  to  pull 
him  round  two  or  three  times,  and  thus  divert  him 
from  his  object. 

The  latter  course  may  also  be  adopted  to  prevent 
his  rearing,  if  the  rider  should  foresee  his  inten- 
tion. 


Vices.  Ill 

A  horse  that  displays  any  symptoms  of  kicking, 
should  be  held  tight  in  hand.  While  his  head  is 
well  kept  up,  he  cannot  do  much  mischief  with  his 
heels. 


If,  however,  when  the  rider  is  unprepared,  in 
spite  of  her  exertions  he  should  get  his  head  down, 
she  must  endeavor,  by  means  of  the  reins,  to  pre- 
vent the  animal  from  throwing  himself;  and  also, 
by  a  proper  inclination  of  her  body  backward,  to 
save  herself  from  being  thrown  forward.  Should 
an  opportunity  occur,  she  must  endeavor  to  give 
him  two  or  three  sharp  turns :  this  may  also  be 
done,  with  advantage,  if  she  detect  any  incipient 
attempts  in  the  animal  to  kick. 

A  horse  inclined  to  rear  seldom  kicks  much: 
but  he  may  do  both  alternately;    and  the  J$u& 


112 


Vices. 


should  be  prepared  against  his  attempts,  by  keep- 
ing her  balance  in  readiness  for  either  of  the  op- 
ponent defences.  She  must  also  take  care,  that, 
while  she  is  holding  her  horse's  head  up  and  well 
in  hand  to  keep  him  from  kicking,  she  do  not  cause 
him  to  rear,  by  too  great  a  degree  of  pressure  on 
his  mouth. 


Exercises  in  the  Paces.    113 


£xei*cise3  ity  ffye   £^ces. 


Although  our  limits  will  not  permit  us  to  enter 
into  an  elaborate  detail  of  the  lessons  taken  by  a 
pupil  in  the  riding  school,  it  is  right  that  we  should 
give  the  learner  a  few  useful  hints  on  the  rudi- 
ments of  riding,  and  not  devote  our  whole  space 
to  the  improvement  of  those  who  have  made  con- 
siderable progress.  While  we  endeavor  to  correct 
bad  habits  in  the  self  taught  artist, — in  the  pupil 
of  a  kind  friend,  an  affectionate  relative,  or  of  a 
mere  groom, — to  confirm  the  regularly  educated 
equestrian  in  the  true  principles  and  practice  of 
the  art, — to  remind  her  of  what  she  has  forgotten, 
and  to  improve  upon  the  knowledge  she  may  have 
acquired, — we  must  not  forget  those  among  our 
young  friends,  who  having  never  mounted  a  horse, 
are  desirous  of  learning  how  to  ride  with  grace 
and  propriety,  and  who  dwell  at  a  distance,  or  do 
not  feel  inclined  to  take  lessons,  from  a  master. 


10*  H 


114    Exercises   in   the   Paces. 

To  such,  one-third,  at  least,  of  our  preceding  ob- 
servations are  applicable ;  and  we  recommend  an 
attentive  perusal  of  what  we  have  said,  as  to 
Mounting,  the  Aids,  &c,  before  they  aspire  to  the 
saddle.  Our  other  remarks  they  will  find  useful 
when  they  have  acquired  a  little  practice. 

A  quiet  and  well-trained  horse,  and  a  careful 
attendant,  should,  if  possible,  be  procured.  A 
horse,  that  knows  his  duty,  will  almost  instruct  his 
rider  ;  and  if  a  friend,  who  is  accustomed  to  horses, 
or  a  careful  servant,  accompany  the  pupil,  there  is 
little  or  nothing  to  fear,  even  in  the  first  attempts. 
The  friend  or  groom,  may  also  by  his  advice  ma- 
terially assist  the  learner  in  her  progress. 

It  would  be  needless  for  us  to  repeat  our  advice 
as  to  the  manner  of  mounting,  holding  the  reins, 
making  the  horse  advance,  stop,  turn,  &c,  or  the 
proper  disposition  of  the  body  and  limbs :  all  these, 
in  her  early  lessons,  the  pupil  should  gradually 
practise. 

The  natural  paces  of  the  horse  are  the  walk, 
the  trot,  and  the  gallop.  These  are  all  distin- 
guished by  the  action  of  the  legs  and  the  beats 
of  the  feet,  which  mark  a  sharp,  flat,  slow,  quick, 
or  rapid  time. 

I.  The  walk  is  the  most  languid  pace,  being 
performed  with  less  exertion  than  the  others. 


Exercises  in  the  Paces.    115 

The  action  of  the  walk  is  that  motion  of  the 
legs  in  which  one  at  a  time  is  off  the  ground  and 
three  on ;  marking  four  distinct  beats,  as  each  foot 
in  rotation  comes  to  the  ground  in  the  following 
order  : — The  off  fore  foot,  leading  first,  marks  one ; 
the  near  hind  foot,  two ;  the  near  fore  foot,  three ; 
and  the  off  hind  foot,  four. 

Here,  though  the  feet  follow  each  other  quickly, 
yet  the  langour  of  the  action  makes  the  beats  flat. 

II.  The  trot  is  a  more  animated  pace,  proceed- 
ing from  the  walk ;  for  when  we  animate  the  horse 
too  much,  or  urge  him  to  proceed  faster  than  he 
can  by  moving  one  leg  after  the  other,  we  oblige 
him  to  take  up  two  at  a  time. 

In  the  trot,  the  off  fore  foot  and  near  hind  foot 
mark  one  beat;  and  the  near  fore  foot  and  off 
hind  foot  mark  another  beat ;  so  that  in  this  action 
there  are  two  legs  crosswise  off  the  ground,  and 
two  legs  on,  which  in  their  alternate  change  of 
situation  mark  the  time  of  one,  two. 

Here,  as  the  action  is  animated,  the  beats  are 
sharp  and  quick,  in  proportion  to  the  degree  of 
animation  and  extension. 

III.  The  gallop  is  a  pace  of  still  higher  anima- 
tion, and  more  exertion  than  the  trot,  and  proceeds 
from  the  trot,  as  the  trot  does  from  the  walk  \  for 


116    Exercises  in  the  Paces. 

when  we  press  a  horse  in  the  trot  beyond  his  ca- 
pacity, or  animate  him  with  the  legs  while  we  re- 
tain him  with  the  hand,  we  compel  him  to  raise 
his  two  fore  legs  after  each  other,  which  commen- 
ces the  action  of  the  gallop. 

The  action  of  the  gallop  is  in  the  following 
order,  when  leading  with  the  right  leg. — The  near 
fore  foot  is  first  raised  from  the  ground :  then  the 
off  fore  foot.  These  come  to  the  ground  in  the 
same  order.  The  near  fore  foot  marks  one  beat, 
or  time :  the  off  fore  foot,  passing  the  other,  while 
both  are  in  the  air,  comes  to  the  ground  more  for- 
ward, is  the  leading  foot,  and  marks  the  second 
beat.  The  hind  feet  follow  in  like  manner.  The 
near  hind  foot  marks  a  third  beat ;  and  the  off 
hind  foot,  passing,  comes  to  the  ground  more  for- 
ward, and  marks  a  fourth  beat.  Thus  the  action 
of  the  gallop  is  by  means  of  the  two  fore  legs 
leading  close  after  each  other ;  and  the  hind  legs 
immediately  following  in  like  order. 

Here,  when  the  gallop  is  united  and  true,  the 
feet  mark  a  regular,  sharp,  and  quick  time,  of  one, 
two,  three,  four. 

IV.  The  amble  may  perhaps  be  considered  as  a 
natural  pace  of  the  horse ;  because  most  foals  fol- 
lowing their  dams  amble  more  or  less  to  keep  up 


Exercises  in  the  Paces.    117 

with  them.  The  difference  between  the  walk  and 
the  amble  is,  that  two  legs  of  a  side  are  raised  in 
the  latter  at  one  and  the  same  instant,  and  so  on 

vice  versa. 


118 


The  Walk 


Xfce  aij^ik. 


Let  the  pupil  walk  the  horse  forward  in  a  straight 
line,  and  at  a  slow  rate,  supporting  his  head  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  make  him  keep  time  in  the 
beats  of  his  pace ;  but  not  holding  the  reins  so 
tight  as  to  impede  the  measurement  of  his  steps, 
or  to  make  him  break  into  a  trot  on  being  slightly 


animated.  The  hand  should  be  so  held,  that  it 
may  delicately,  but  distinctly,  feel  by  the  opera- 
tion of  the  horse's  mouth  on  the  reins,  every  beat 
of  his  action.     If  he  do  not  exert  himself  suffici- 


The   Walk.  119 

ently,  lie  should  be  somewhat  animated.  Should 
he  break  into  a  trot,  he  must  be  checked  by  the 
reins ;  but  the  pull  must  neither  be  so  firm  nor 
continued  as  to  make  him  stop.  The  moment  he 
obeys  the  rein  and  drops  into  a  walk,  the  hand  is 
to  be  relaxed.  Should  he  require  animating  again, 
the  movement  for  that  purpose  must  be  more  gentle 
than  before,  lest  he  once  more  break  into  a  trot. 

After  walking  in  a  straight  line  for  a  short  time, 
the  lady  should  practise  the  turn  to  the  right  and 
to  the  left ;  alternately  using  both  hands  in  these 
operations,  in  the  manner  directed  in  a  previous 
page.  She  must  observe,  that  when  she  pulls  the 
right  rein  in  order  to  turn  the  horse  on  that  side, 
the  other  hand  must  be  relaxed  and  lowered,  or 
advanced  to  slacken  the  left  rein  and  ease  the 
horse's  mouth,  and  vice  versa. 

If  the  horse  do  not  readily  obey  the  hand  in 
turning,  or  bring  forward  his  croup  sufficiently,  he 
must  be  urged  to  throw  himself  more  on  the  bit, 
by  an  animation  of  the  leg  or  whip.  The  anima- 
tions during  the  first  lessons,  should  be  commenced 
with  great  gentleness,  and  the  rider  will  early 
discover,  by  a  little  experience,  to  what  degree  it 
is  necessary  to  increase  them  in  order  to  procure 
obedience.  This  observation  should  be  attended 
to  were  it  only  for  the  pupil's  safety ;  for  if  she 


120  The  Walk. 

begin  with  her  animations  above  the  horse's  spirit, 
his  courage  will  be  so  raised  as  to  endanger,  or,  at 
least,  alarm  her,  and  thus  render  what  would 
otherwise  be  an  agreeable  exercise,  unpleasant. 

After  the  pupil  has  practised  walking  in  a 
straight  line,  and  turning  on  either  side,  for  a  few 
days,  she  may  walk  in  a  circle,  and  soon  make  her 
horse  wheel,  change,  demi-volt,  &c.  The  circle 
should  be  large  at  first,  but  when  the  pupil  has 
acquired  her  proper  equilibrium,  &c,  it  must  day 
by  day,  be  gradually  contracted. 

In  riding  round  a  circle,  the  inner  rein  is  to  be 
rather  lowered,  and  the  body  inclined  inward.  This 
inclination  must  be  increased  during  succeeding 
lessons,  as  the  circle  is  contracted,  and  the  pupil 
quickens  the  pace  of  her  horse.  She  must  prac- 
tice in  the  large  circle,  until  she  is  able,  by  her 
hands  and  aids,  to  make  the  horse  perform  it  cor- 
rectly. The  inside  rein  must  be  delicately  acted 
upon ;  if  it  be  jerked,  at  distant  intervals,  or  borne 
upon,  without  intermission,  the  horse,  in  the  for- 
mer case,  will  swerve  in  and  out,  and,  in  the  latter, 
the  rider's  hand,  and  the  animal's  mouth,  will  both 
become,  in  some  degree,  deadened ;  and  thus  their 
correspondence  will  be  decreased.  In  order  to 
procure  correct  action,  the  inner  rein  should  be 
alternately  borne  on  in  a  very  slight  degree,  and 


The  Walk.  121 

relaxed  the  next  instant, — the  hand  keeping  exact 
time  in  its  operations  with  the  cadence  of  the 
horse's  feet.  The  direction  is  to  be  frequently 
changed;  the  pupil  alternately  working  to  the 
right  and  the  left,  so  as  to  bring  both  her  hands 
into  practice. 

As  soon  as  the  rider  becomes  tolerably  well  con- 
firmed in  her  seat  and  balance,  and  in  the  perform- 
ance of  the  simple  aids  and  animations,  as  well  in 
large  as  in  small  circles,  she  should  begin  to  ride 
in  double  circles  ;  at  first  of  considerable  diameter, 
but  decreasing  them,  by  degrees,  as  she  improves. 
Riding  in  double  circles,  is  guiding  the  horse  to 
perform  a  figure  of  8 ;  and  this,  in  the  language 
of  the  riding-school,  is  effecting  the  large  and 
narrow  change,  according  to  the  size  of  the  circles. 
The  number  of  the  circles  may  be  increased,  and 
the  sizes  varied,  with  great  advantage  both  to  the 
rider  and  the  horse.  They  may  be  at  some  dis- 
tance from  each  other,  and  the  horse 
be  guided  to  work  from  one  to  the 
other  diagonally.  Thus,  suppose 
he  starts  from  a,  he  may  be  made  to 
leave  the  upper  circle  at  g,  and  en- 
ter the  lower  one  at  d ;  leave  it  at 
c,  and  enter  the  first  again  at  b; 
and  so  continue  for  some  time :  then, 
11 


122 


The  Walk. 


beginning  at/,  to  quit  the  lower  circle  at  e,  enter 
the  upper  one  at  £>,  leave  it  at  e,  and  enter  the 
lower  circle  again  at  d.  Thus,  the  position  of  the 
rider  and  horse  are  alternately  changed,  from 
working  from  the  right  to  a  straight  line,  thence 
to  the  left,  thence  to  a  straight  line,  and  thence 
again  to  the  right.  To  give  an  instance  of  riding 
in  a  greater  number  of  circles,  of  different  diame- 
ters, let  the  horse  start  from  a,  and 
leave  the  upper  circle  at  b,  travers- 
ing to  the  outer  small  circle  at  c, 
passing  round,  so  as  to  enter  the  in- 
ner circle  at  e,  and  going  round,  by 
/,  to  g ;  quitting  it  at  g,  and  enter- 
ing the  lower  circle  at  h;  quitting 
the  latter  again,  after  passing  round 
*,  at  Jc,  and  thence  proceeding  to- 
wards the  outer  small  circle ;  en- 
tering at  I,  going  round  and  enter- 
ing the  inner  circle  at  e,  passing  round,  and  quit- 
ting it  at/,  to  return  again  to  a,  by  entering  the 
upper  circle  at  m.  These  exercises  may  be  diver- 
sified in  various  ways  ;  the  pupil,  for  instance,  may 
perform  the  upper  circle,  and  one  or  both  of  the 
pair  below,  return  to  the  upper  circle,  cross  from 
that,  diagonally,  to  the  lower  circle,  quit  it,  at  Ji 
or  Jc,  to  perform  one  of  the  middle  circles,  return 


The  Walk.  123 

to  the  lower  circle  again,  pass  thence  to  the  other 
middle  circle,  and  quit  it  at  c,  or  /  (as  the  case 
may  happen,)  to  return  to  the  upper  circle  again. 
Nothing  can  be  more  beneficial  than  this  variety 
of  action ;  it  tends  at  once  to  confirm  the  pupil  in4 
her  seat ;  to  exercise  her  in  her  balance  and  aids ; 
and  to  render  the  horse  obedient :  while,  if  he  be 
kept  in  only  one  direction,  he  will  perform  the 
figure  mechanically,  without  either  improving  his 
own  mouth  and  action,  or  the  rider's  hands,  aids, 
or  balance. 

In  the  art  of  riding,  working  on  a  circle  is 
called  a  volt;  in  angles,  or  zig-zag  direction,  changes 
reverse;  and  on  half  a  circle  from  a  line,  a  derni- 
volt.  These  figures  may  first  be  performed  sepa- 
rately ;  but  there  can  be  no  objection  to  the  demi- 
volt  and  changes  reverse  being  afterwards  embo- 
died in  the  exercises  on  circles.  As  in  the  last 
figure,  the  lady  may  work  from  a  in  the  mode  di- 
rected, for  some  time ;  then  perform 
the  variations,  by  going  across  from 
a  to  b,  and  describe  a  demi-volt  round 
by  e  e  to  a  ;  then  return  from  a  to  b, 
and  work  a  demi-volt,  in  an  opposite 
direction,  from  b  to  a:  thence,  the 
lady  may  proceed  in  a  line,  enter  the 
lower  circle  at  d,  and  re-commence 


124  The  Walk. 

riding  in  circles.  The  change  reverse  may  at  any 
time  be  performed,  by  quitting  the  upper  at  e  or/, 
and  working  on  the  traversing  lines,  so  as  to  cross 
the  lower  circle  at  g  or  h,  and  enter  it  at  i  or  h. 
In  fact,  these  exercises  may  be  varied  ad  libitum  ; 
and  the  more  they  are  diversified,  the  greater  ad- 
vantage the  lady  will  derive  from  them,  provided 
she  persevere  until  she  can  perform  one  figure  with 
accuracy,  before  she  enter  upon  another  that  is 
more  complicated.  Should  the  horse,  in  changing, 
yield  his  head,  but  withhold  his  croup  so  as  to  de- 
stroy the  union  of  his  action,  or  mar  the  perfec- 
tion of  the  change,  the  rider  should  bring  it  to 
the  proper  position,  or  sequence,  by  an  aid  of  the 
whip  or  leg,  as  the  case  may  be. 


The  Trot.  125 


Ifye  Ifrof. 


The  lady  should  begin  to  practise  this  pace  as 
soon  as  she  is  tolerably  perfect  in  the  walking  les- 
sons. This  pace  is  the  foundation  of  excellence 
in  all  others.  By  its  alternate  action,  we  supple 
every  joint — the  shoulders,  the  elbow,  the  knee, 
the  loins,  the  haunches,  the  houghs :  we  raise  the 
head  and  foot,  and-  make  the  mouth,  without  which 
the  faculties  of  the  horse  are  confined,  and  all  his 
actions  stiff  and  uneven. 

The  perfection  of  the  trot  consists :  first,  in  its 
suppleness,  which  gives  the  horse  a  free  use  and 
extension  of  his  limbs,  either  on  straight  lines  or 
circles ;  next,  in  its  union,  by  which  the  labor  is 
more  equally  distributed,  for  a  little  observation 
points  out,  that  the  horse's  fore  legs  have  a  greater 
portion  to  sustain  than  the  hind,  especially  when 
the  horse  is  disunited,  or,  what  is  termed,  on  the 
shoulders ;  then  in  its  action,  which  should  be  true 
and  equal,  the  liberty  of  the  fore  quarters  not 
exceeding  the  hind,  nor  the  hind  the  fore, — the 
11* 


126  The  Trot. 

knee  up,  the  haunches  bent,  springy  and  pliant, 
the  step  measuring  exact  distances,  and  making  a 
regular  time  of  one,  two,  the  measure  of  which 
depends  on  the  animation,  restriction,  or  rapidity 
of  the  action.  By  these  qualities,  the  horse  is 
capacitated  to  work  freely  to  right  or  left,  on 
circles,  without  falsifying  his  step,  or  breaking  his 
time. 

In  the  trot,  as  in  the  gallop,  the  horse  leads 
with  a  foot,  either  right  or  left,  by  which  the  lead- 
ing side  is  a  little  more  advanced  than  the  other. 
This  nice  discrimination  is  observed  only  by  those 
much  acquainted  with  horses.  The  suppling  to 
both  hands  capacitates  him  to  work  to  one  hand  as 


well  as  the  other;  and  in  horses  that  have  not 
been  so  suppled,  if  chance  or  fatigue  make  them 
change  their  leg  for  that  which  they  are  not  accus- 


The  Trot.  127 

tomed  to,  their  action  is  stiff,  irregular,  confined, 
and  unpleasant. 

It  will  be  as  well  for  her,  at  first,  to  trot  in  a 
straight  line:  she  may  then  work-  in  the  large 
circle,  and  proceed,  gradually,  through  most  of 
the  figures  which  she  has  performed  in  a  walk. 
To  make  the  horse  advance  from  a  walk  to  a  trot, 
draw  upwards  the  little  finger  of  each  hand  (or 
that  of  the  left  hand  only,  when  the  pupil  has 
advanced  enough  to  hold  the  reins  in  one  hand,) 
and  turn  them  towards  the  body ;  an  animation  of 
the  leg  or  whip  should  accompany  this  motion. 
The  trot  should  be  commenced  moderately :  if  the 
horse  start  off  too  rapidly,  or  increase  the  pace 
beyond  the  rider's  inclination,  she  must  check  him 
by  closing  the  hands  firmly ;  and,  if  that  will  not 
suffice,  by  drawing  the  little  fingers  upwards  and 
towards  the  body.  This  must  not  be  done  by  a 
jerk,  but  delicately  and  gradually ;  and,  as  soon 
as  the  proper  effect  is  produced,  the  reins  are  again 
to  be  slackened.  If  the  horse  do  not  advance  with 
sufficient  speed,  or  do  not  bring  up  his  haunches 
well,  the  animations  used  at  starting  him  are  to  be 
repeated.  When  the  horse  proceeds  to  the  trot, 
the  lady  must  endeavor  to  preserve  her  balance, 
steadiness  and  pliancy,  as  in  the  walk.  The  rise 
in  trotting  is  to  be  acquired  by  practice.     When 


128  The  Trot. 

the  horse  in  his  action,  raises  the  rider  from  her 
seat,  she  should  advance  her  body,  and  rest  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  her  weight  on  the  right  knee ; 
by  means  of  which,  and  by  bearing  the  left  foot 
on  the  stirrup,  she  may  return  to  her  former  posi- 
tion without  being  jerked ;  the  right  knee  and  the 
left  foot,  used  in  the  same  manner,  will  also  aid 
her  in  the  rise.  Particular  attention  must  be  paid 
to  the  general  position  of  the  body  while  trotting : 
in  this  pace,  ordinary  riders  frequently  rise  to  the 
left,  which  is  a  very  bad  practice,  and  must  posi- 
tively be  avoided.  The  lady  should  also  take  care 
not  to  raise  herself  too  high ;  the  closer  she  main- 
tains her  seat,  consistently  with  her  own  comfort, 
the  better. 

The  only  proof,  or  rather  the  most  certain  sign 
of  a  horse  trotting  well  is,  that  when  he  is  in  his 
trot,  and  the  rider  begins  to  press  him  a  little,  he 
offers  to  gallop. 

As  the  rider  improves,  she  will  encourage  her 
horse  to  put  his  foot  out  freely,  supporting  his 
forehand  up,  and  his  haunches  under.  For  this 
purpose,  she  must  keep  up  a  sufficient  degree  of 
animation ;  and  the  instant  she  perceives  a  languor, 
which  may  be  felt  before  any  visible  abatement  in 
the  action  takes  place,  she  must  throw  in  her  ani- 


The  Trot 


129 


mation  in  time — a  touch  of  the  finger,  the  anima- 
tion of  the  tongue,  the  switch  of  the  whip,  or  the 
application  of  the  leg  and  whip,  whichever  comes 
the  most  ready,  so  that  it  is  not  too  frequently 
used  to  lose  its  effect. 


130 


The  Canter. 


Ifye  C^i/fei*. 


The  whole  of  the  exercises  on  circles  should 
next  be  performed  in  a  canter ;  which  may  be  com- 
menced from  a  short  but  animated  trot,  a  walk,  or 
even  a  stop.  If  the  horse  be  well  trained,  a  slight 
pressure  of  the  whip  and  leg,  and  an  elevation  of 


the  horse's  head,  by  means  of  the  rems,  will  make 
him  strike  into  a  canter.  Should  he  misunder- 
stand or  disobey  these  indications  of  the  rider's 
will,  by  merely  increasing  his  walk  or  trot,  or  going 
into  the  trot  from  a  walk,  as  the  case  may  be,  he 


The   Canter.  131 

is  to  be  pressed  forward  on  the  bit  by  an  increased 
animation  of  the  leg  and  whip ; — the  reins,  at  the 
same  time,  being  held  more  firmly,  in  order  to  re- 
strain him  from  advancing  too  rapidly  to  bring  his 
haunches  well  under  him ;  for  the  support  of  which, 
in  this  position,  he  will  keep  both  his  hind  feet  for 
a  moment  on  the  ground,  while  he  commences  the 
canter  by  raising  his  fore  feet  together. 

The  canter  is  by  far  the  most  elegant  and  agree- 
able of  all  the  paces,  when  properly  performed  by 
the  horse  and  rider ;  its  perfection  consists  in  its 
union  and  animation,  rather  than  its  speed.  It  is 
usual  with  learners  who  practise  without  a  master, 
to  begin  the  canter  previously  to  the  trot ;  but  we 
are  supported  by  good  authority  in  recommending, 
that  the  lady  should  first  practise  the  trot,  as  it  is 
certainly  much  better  calculated  to  strengthen  and 
confirm  her  in  the  balance,  seat,  &c,  than  the 
canter. 

The  lady  is  advised  at  this  stage  of  her  progress, 
to  practise  the  paces,  alternately,  in  the  various 
combinations  of  the  figures  we  have  described; 
performing  her  aids  with  greater  power  and  accu- 
racy in  turning  and  working  in  circles,  when  trot- 
ting or  cantering,  than  when  walking.  She  should 
also  perfect  herself  in  her  aids,  the  correspon- 
dence, and  balance,  by  alternately  increasing  and 


132  The  Canter. 

diminishing  the  speed  in  each  pace,  until  she 
attain  a  perfect  mastery  over  herself  and  her 
horse,  and  can  not  only  make  him  work  in  what 
direction,  and  at  what  pace,  but,  also,  at  what 
degree  of  speed  in  each  pace,  she  pleases. 

The  horse  ought  to  lead  with  the  right  foot: 
should  he  strike  off  with  the  left,  the  rider  must 
either  check  him  to  a  walk,  and  then  make  him 
commence  the  canter  again,  or  induce  him  to  ad- 
vance the  proper  leg  by  acting  on  the  near  rein, 
pressing  his  side  with  the  left  leg,  and  touching  his 
right  shoulder  with  the  whip.  His  hind  legs  should 
follow  the  direction  of  the  fore  legs,  otherwise  the 
pace  will  be  untrue,  disunited,  and  unpleasant, 
both  to  horse  and  rider :  therefore,  if  the  horse 
lead  with  his  near  fore  leg  (unless  when  cantering 
to  the  left — the  only  case  when  the  near  legs 
should  be  advanced,)  or  with  his  near  hind  leg, 
except  in  the  case  just  mentioned — although  he 
may  lead  with  the  proper  fore  leg — the  pace  is 
false,  and  ought  to  be  rectified. 

When  the  horse  leads  with  the  proper  leg,  the 
hand  should  resume  its  usual  position,  the  rider 
observing  to  make  the  horse  bend  a  little  inwards, 
by  shortening  the  right  rein.  The  fingers  should 
be  softened,  if  necessary,  to  let  the  horse  advance, 


The  Canter.  133 

but  the  hand  kept  up,  and  every  cadence  felt  of 
the  fore  feet  coming  to  the  ground. 

Beginners  cannot  be  expected  at  first  to  know 
when  the  horse  takes  the  proper  leg:  practice 
alone  must  give  them  that  knowledge.  If  the 
rider,  however,  take  the  proper  position,  and  if 
the  horse  go  off  smoothly,  and  continue  the  croup 
in,  she  may  reasonably  suppose  him  right ;  but  on 
the  contrary,  if  the  horse  appear  to  resist  these 
aids,  and  the  croup  be  out  and  the  shoulders  in,  he 
will,  most  likely,  be  false. 

It  is  natural  with  beginners,  to  suppose  that  the 
faster  they  ride,  the  better  they  ride ;  but,  how- 
ever gratifying  the  riding  fast  may  be,  there  is 
more  skill  displayed  in  keeping  up  an  animated 
action  in  the  gallop,  at  the  rate  even  of  three 
miles  an  hour,  than  at  that  of  twelve  or  fifteen 
miles  an  hour.  The  attention  of  the  pupil  should 
therefore  be,  to  keep  up  the  animation  and  action 
of  the  gallop,  without  going  fast.  If  the  anima- 
tion fail,  or  the  action  be  not  supported  by  the 
hand,  the  horse  will  break  into  the  trot,  particu- 
larly as  the  gallop  is  shortened  or  united. 

The  perfection  of   the   gallop   consists  in  the 
suppleness  of  the  limbs,  the  union  of  the  horse, 
the  justness  of  the  action,  and  the  regularity  of 
the  time. 
12 


134  The   Canter. 

The  gallop  when  disunited  and  when  extended 
to  speed,  even  though  the  horse  is  supple  and  just 
on  his  legs,  loses  its  harmony  and  regularity  of 
time.  In  these  cases,  the  fore  legs  measure  less 
space  from  each  other,  and  so  do  the  hind  legs, 
which  make  the  beats  quicker  in  each,  and  leaves 
a  space  between  the  beats  of  the  fore  legs,  and 
the  beats  of  the  hind.  In  these  gallops,  it  would 
be  highly  imprudent  to  circle,  or  turn,  but  on  a 
very  large  scale. 

Begin,  therefore,  in  a  medium  way,  neither  too 
rapid  nor  too  slow.  Be  sure  to  keep  the  hands 
up,  rather  above  than  below  the  elbow,  and  quite 
steady,  that  you  may  feel  the  cadence  of  every 
step,  and  the  support  your  hand  gives.  If  you 
feel  the  action  declining,  correct  it  instantly,  be- 
fore worse  disorder  takes  place,  by  an  animating 
touch  of  the  fingers,  the  leg,  or  the  whip.  The 
hand  first  discovers  any  disorder  or  relinquishment 
going  to  take  place,  and  consequently  is  the  first 
to  correct  it. 

Horses,  when  broke,  in  many  instances,  discover 
the  ineflicacy  of  the  rider's  hand,  particularly  in 
the  gallop  round  the  riding  house.  If  the  hand 
be  not  attentive,  the  horse  will  break  his  ground 
at  the  ends:  he  will  not  only  evade  filling  the 
corners,  but  will  circle  without  going  to  the  extent 


The   Canter.  135 

of  the  house.  To  prevent  this,  keep  the  horse 
sufficiently  united,  and  properly  supported  by  the 
hand.  Do  not  suffer  him  to  depart  from  the  side 
wall,  till  his  nose  arrives  within  five  yards  of  the 
end  wall.  As  you  become  proficient,  you  may  ride 
him  up  to  a  yard.  Then  gradually  turn  or  incline 
your  body,  to  let  the  horse  circle ;  but  still  keep 
the  hands  sufficiently  operating  outward,  to  keep 
the  horse's  fore  legs  on  the  outer  extent  of  the 
ground,  and  close  the  leg,  to  support  the  croup  in, 
and  haunches  under ;  by  which  the  horse  will  be 
properly  balanced,  and  in  no  danger  of  slipping. 

The  pupil  must  be  trained  by  practice  and  in- 
struction to  retain  her  seat  and  balance,  and  to  make 
her  horse  obey  the  aids,  with  as  much  ease  and 
pteadiness  at  the  canter  as  at  the  walk. 

When  the  rider  finds  she  can  put  her  horse  off 
properly,  and  support  the  action,  she  must  partic- 
ularly attend  to  the  truth  and  union  of  the  action, 
and  try  to  raise  it  to  the  highest  animation,  riding 
sometimes  rapidly,  sometimes  slowly,  yet  always 
united. 

When  capacitated  to  ride  the  gallop  in  high  ani- 
mation, lofty  action,  united  and  true  to  both  hands, 
she  will  proceed  to  make  the  changes. 


136  The  Canter. 


TURNS,    STOPS,   ETC.,   IN  THE   GALLOP. 

When  the  rider  is  familiar  with  the  paces,  easy 
in  her  seat,  and  has  learnt  to  apply  the  proper 
aids,  she  should  be  taught  how  to  turn  her  horse 
to  the  right,  at  a  canter.  This  is  to  be  done  with 
the  leading  rein,  by  raising  the  horse's  forehand, 
and  pressing  the  haunches  forward  and  under  him  : 
at  the  same  time,  the  outward  rein  assists  to  steady 
the  horse,  and  a  pressure  of  the  leg  keeps  the 
haunches  from  falling  too  much  out. 

If  she  turn  her  horse  suddenly  with  the  inward 
rein,  only  without  shifting  the  forehand,  or  apply- 
ing the  leg,  the  horse  must  turn  on  his  shoulders, 
and  lose  all  power  to  halt  on  his  haunches ;  and 
being  twisted  round  unprepared,  he  will  change  to 
the  outward  leg,  to  counteract  the  effect  of  this 
uncollected  turn. 

The  inner  hand  always  supports  the  position  the 
horse  works  in,  and  must  be  fixed  to  the  body. 
The  outer  hand  must  be  accomodating  to  the  in- 
ner :  that  is,  it  may  be  detached  from  the  body, — 
placed  forward  to  admit  the  little  turn  of  the 
horse's  nose  to  the  lines  he  is  to  work  on, — carried 
higher  than  the  inner,  to  raise  the  action  and  ani- 
mation without  moving  the  hand  that  supports  the 


The  Canter.  137 

position;  and  if  the  outer  elbow  is  raised,  the 
hand,  elbow,  and  shoulder  must  be  of  a  parallel 
height,  and  form  a  graceful  arch. 

The  pupil  should  also  practise  the  stop  fre- 
quently, always  changing  the  place  where  she  stops, 
lest  the  horse  should  prepare  himself  to  halt  when 
he  comes  to  the  place  at  which  he  has  been  accus- 
tomed to  stop. 

To  stop  skilfully  in  the  gallop,  you  seize  the  time 
when  the  horse's  fore  feet  are  coming  to  the 
ground,  which  is  the  beginning  of  the  cadence; 
and  the  hind  feet  coming  up  to  their  exact  distance 
finish  the  cadence,  and  complete  the  stop-;  while 
the  horse  is  so  balanced,  that  he  can  readily  set 
off  again  with  the  same  rapidity  as  before. 

The  skill  of  the  rider  and  obedience  of  the 
horse,  are  happily  displayed  in  the  stop  during 
the  gallop ;  for,  besides  seizing  the  exact  time,  as 
above  observed,  a  due  proportion  of  power  must  be 
attended  to,  agreeable  to  the  readiness,  obedience, 
union,  or  rapidity  of  the  action.  Should  your 
operation  be  too  feeble,  the  stop  would  not  be 
effected,  at  least  in  a  proper  manner :  if  it  be  too 
powerful,  you  overbalance  the  horse  on  his  haunches, 
and  compel  him  to  move  his  feet  after  the  cadence 
is  finished,  to  recover  his  balance.  Besides,  in 
these  over  violent  operations  of  the  body  and 
12* 


138  The   Canter. 

hand,  you  risk  the  extension  of  the  sinews  behind, 
or  hurting  the  back  and  loins ;  and  therefore,  till 
horses  are  ready  and  obedient  to  the  stop,  it  should 
not  be  attempted  in  too  violent  and  rapid  gallops ; 
not  even  then,  if  the  horse  is  weak,  or  the  rider 
heavy,  in  which  case,  the  double  arret  is  used,  as 
being  less  liable  to  injure  the  horse,  or  shake  the 
rider. 

As  the  canter  is  a  severe  exercise,  both  for 
riders  and  horses,  the  duration  of  it  should  be 
short. 


The  Gallop. 


139 


Ifye  ft^iiop. 


No  lady  of  taste  ever  gallops  on  the  road.  Into 
this  pace,  the  lady's  horse  is  never  urged,  or  per- 
mitted to  break,  except  in  the  field :  and  not  above 
one  among  a  thousand  of  our  fair  readers,  it  may 
be  surmised,  is  likely  to  be  endowed  with  sufficient 
ambition  and  boldness,  to  attempt  "  the  following 
of  hounds."  Any  remarks,  on  our  part,  with 
regard  to  this  pace,  would,  therefore,  be  all  but 
needless. 


140   Stopping- and  Backing 


§fof>f>»i).g  w$  3hci(iJ)cj« 


The  lady  must  learn  how  to  perform  the  perfect 
stop  in  all  the  paces.  The  perfect  stop  in  the  walk, 
is  a  cessation  of  all  action  in  the  animal,  produced 
instantaneously  by  the  rider,  without  any  previous 


intimation  being  given  by  her  to  the  horse.  The 
slovenly  stop  is  gradual  and  uncertain.  The  incor- 
rect stop  is  a  momentary  and  violent  check  on  the 


Stopping  and  Backing.       141 

action  in  the  middle,  instead  of  the  conclusion,  of 
the  cadence,  while  the  fore  legs  are  coming  to  the 
ground.  The  proper  movements  should  be  per- 
formed, by  the  rider,  so  that  the  stop  may  con- 
clude correctly  with  the  cadence.  The  firmness 
of  the  hand  should  be  increased,  the  body  be 
thrown  back,  the  reins  drawn  to  the  body,  and 
the  horse's  haunches  pressed  forward  by  the  leg 
and  whip,  so  that  he  may  be  brought  to  bear  on 
the  bit. 

The  stop  in  the  trot  is  performed  as  in  the  walk : 
the  rider  should  operate  when  the  advanced  limbs 
of  the  animal,  before  and  behind,  respectively, 
have  come  to  the  ground,  so  that  the  stop  may  be 
perfected  when  the  other  fore  leg  and  hind  leg 
advance  and  complete  the  cadence. 

The  stop  in  the  canter  is  performed  by  the  rider 
in  a  similar  manner :  the  time  should  be  at  the  in- 
stant when  the  horse's  fore  feet  are  descending ; — 
the  hind  feet  will  immediately  follow,  and  at  once 
conclude  the  cadence.  In  an  extended  canter,  it 
is  advisable  to  reduce  the  horse  to  a  short  trot, 
prior  to  stopping  him,  or  to  perform  the  stop  by  a 
double  arret ; — that  is  in  two  cadences  instead  of 
one. 

It  is  necessary  that  the  lady  should  learn  how 


142   Stopping  and  Backing. 

to  make  a  horse  bach,  in  walking :  to  do  this,  ehe 
reins  must  be  drawn  equally  and  steadily  to- 
wards the  body,  and  the  croup  of  the  horse 
kept  in  a  proper  direction  by  means  of  the  leg  and 
whip. 


going  backward  in  the  walk. 

The  action  of  a  horse  when  he  goes  backward 
is,  to  have  always  one  of  his  hinder  legs  under  his 
belly,  to  push  his  croup  backward,  to  bend  his 
haunches,  and  to  rest  and  balance  himself  one  time 
on  one  leg,  and  then  on  the  other. 

Care  must  be  taken  that  this  action  of  going 
backward  be  just ;  and  that  in  performing  it  .the 
horse  keep  his  head  steady,  fixed,  and  in  a  right 
place,  that  his  body  be  trussed  or  gathered  up  as 
it  were  under  him,  that  he  be  not  upon  his  shoul- 
ders, but,  on  the  contrary,  upon  his  haunches,  and 
that  the  feet  be  even. 

It  is  by  an  equal  and  steady  feeling  of  both 
reins  of  the  bridle,  that  the  horse  is  made  thus  to 
step  back;  and  to  give  greater  efficacy  to  this, 
the  hand  should  be  kept  from  rising,  and  the 
knuckles   a  little   down.      The   body   should  no 


Stopping  and  Backing.       143 

longer  be  thrown  back  as  in  the  stop,  but  rather 
bend  forward,  which  gives  the  hand  greater  effect, 
without  provoking  the  horse  to  rear  —  a  circum- 
stance that  might  occur  with  horses  which  do  not 
readily  obey  the  hand,  particularly  if  you  leaned 
back  to  give  power  to  the  hand.  If  you  attempt 
to  compel  the  horse  back  by  the  power  or  weight 
of  the  body,  and  he  should  rear,  the  body  cannot 
be  brought  forward,  you  hang  on  by  the  bridle, 
and  should  you  happen  to  have  the  preponderance, 
you  pull  the  horse  backwards  on  yourself.  The 
horse  must  at  the  same  time  be  gently  felt  with 
both  leg  and  whip,  in  order  to  keep  him  up  to  the 
bridle,  and  to  prevent  him  from  swerving. 

The  operation  of  the  hand  in  reining  back 
is  a  kind  of  invitation.  Should  the  horse 
not  readily  obey,  play  with  the  mouth  by  moving 
the  fingers :  this  will  induce  the  horse  to  raise  his 
head. 

The  instant  the  horse  is  constrained  to  back,  the 
body,  if  in  a  proper  position,  will  incline  forward, 
and  the  fingers  must  be  eased.  A  horse  that  is 
properly  broke,  obeys  the  lightest  pressure  of  the 
fingers,  and  backs  without  throwing  him  off  his 
balance ;  but  the  horse  that  is  constrained  to  back 
is  overbalanced,  and,  if  the  body  did  not  come  for- 


144       Stopping  and  Backing. 

ward,  or  the  hand  relinquish  its  severity,  he  must 
back  till  he  fall :  therefore,  the  instant  the  horse 
yields  to  the  hand,  the  body  and  hand  yield  to  the 
horse,  that  he  may  recover  his  balance.  He 
should  then  be  gently  invited  or  pressed  to  back 
again. 

In  reining  back,  the  hand  must  preserve  its  cen- 
trical situation,  so  that  it  may  not  compel  the 
croup  to  traverse  off  the  line.  If  the  hand  is  from 
the  centre  to  the  left,  the  croup  will  traverse  to 
the  right ;  and  if  to  the  right,  the  croup  will  tra- 
verse to  the  left. 

With  the  greatest  exactness  of  the  hand,  how- 
ever, some  horses'  croups  will  traverse,  and  re- 
quire the  particular  attention  of  the  heel  or  whip 
to  support  and  direct  them  on  the  line.  The  hand 
and  heel  or  whip  are  always  to  support  and  assist 
each  other.  Thus :  should  the  croup  traverse  to 
the  right,  you  must,  of  course,  press  with  the  whip  ; 
then  to  give  assistance  or  co-operation,  the  hand 
must  be  carried  a  little  to  the  right ;  but  this  must 
be  done  with  the  greatest  delicacy,  lest  you  should 
throw  the  croup  too  much  to  the  left,  and  reverse 
the  disorder  instead  of  correcting  it. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  that,  in  reining  back,  the 
hand  and  the  heel  or  whip  change  their  functions ; 


Stopping  and  Backing 


145 


that  is,  the  hand  compels  the  action,  and  the  heel 
or  whip  directs  it. 

This  operation  ought  to  be  performed  very 
slowly  at  first,  and  only  two  or  three  steps  at  a 
time. 


146 


Leaping 


ettftyg. 


In  riding-schools,  ladies  who  never  intend  to 
hunt,  are  frequently  taught  to  leap  the  bar.  The 
practice  is  certainly  beneficial ;  as  it  tends  to  con- 
firm the  seat,  and  enables  the  rider  more  effectu- 
ally to  preserve  her  balance,  should  she  ever  be 
mounted  on  an  unsteady  or  vicious  horse. 


Leaps  are  taken,  either  standing  or  flying,  over  a 
bar,  which  is  so  contrived  as  to  fall,  when  touched 
by  the  horse's  feet,  if  he  do  not  clear  it :  it  is  placed 
at  a  short  distance  from  the  ground,  at  first ;  and 
raised,  by  degrees,  as  the  rider  improves.     The 


Leaping.  147 

standing  leap,  which  is  practised  first,  the  horse 
takes  from  the  halt,  close  to  the  bar.  The  flying 
leap  is  taken  from  any  pace,  and  is  easier  than  the 
standing  leap,  although  the  latter  is  considered  the 


safer  of  the  two  to  begin  with ;  as,  from  the  steadi- 
ness with  which  it  is  made  by  a  trained  horse,  the 
master  or  assistant  can  aid  the  pupil  at  the  slight- 
est appearance  of  danger. 

The  position  of  the  rider  is  to  be  governed  in  this, 
as  in  all  other  cases,  by  the  action  of  the  horse.  No 
weight  is  to  be  borne  on  the  stirrup ;  for,  in  fact, 
pressure  on  the  stirrup  will  tend  to  raise  the  body, 
rather  than  keep  it  close  to  the  saddle.  The  legs 
—  particularly  the  right  one  —  must  be  pressed 
closely  against  the  saddle,  and  the  reins  yielded  to 


148  Leaping. 

the  horse,  so  that  the  rider  can  just  distinguish  a 
slight  correspondence  between  her  own  hand  and 
the  horse's  mouth.  The  animations  thus  produced, 
and  the  invitation  thus  given,  will  make  the  horse 
rise.  As  his  fore  quarters  ascend,  the  lady  is  to 
advance  forward ;  the  back  being  bent  inward,  and 
the  head  kept  upright  and  steady.  A  moment  be- 
fore the  horse's  hind  legs  quit  the  ground,  the  body 
should  be  inclined  backward  ;  the  rider  taking  care 
not  to  bear  heavily  on  the  reins,  lest  the  horse  force 
her  hand,  and  pull  her  forward  on  his  neck,  or  over 
his  head,  as  he  descends.  When  the  leap  is  cleared, 
the  rider  should  bring  the  horse  together,  if  at  all 
disunited,  and  resume  her  usual  position. 

In  the  flying  leap,  the  seat  is  to  be  preserved  as 
in  the  standing  leap ;  except,  that  it  is  needless,  and, 
indeed,  unwise,  to  advance  the  body  as  the  horse 
rises :  because,  in  the  flying  leap,  the  horse's  position, 
especially  in  a  low  leap,  is  more  horizontal  than 
when  he  rises  at  the  bar  from  a  halt ;  and  there  is 
great  danger  of  the  rider  being  thrown,  if  she  lean 
forward,  in  case  the  horse  suddenly  check  himself 
and  refuse  the  leap ;  which  circumstance  occasionally 
happens.  The  waist  should  be  brought  forward,  and 
the  body  suffered  to  take  that  inclination  backward 
which  will  be  produced  by  the  spring  forward  of  the 
horse.     The  horse's  head  is  to  be  guided  towards 


Leaping. 


149 


the  bar,  and  the  reins  yielded  to  him  as  he  ad- 


vance. 


The  proper  distance  for  a  horse  to  run  previous 
to  the  leap,  is  from  ten  to  fifteen  yards.  If  he  be 
well  trained,  he  may  be  suffered  to  take  his  own 
pace ;  but  it  is  necessary  to  animate  an  indolent 
animal  into  a  short,  collected  gallop,  and  urge  him, 
by  strong  aids,  to  make  the  leap. 


150        Concludinu  Kbmakks. 


Goifciqdiifg    ^ehi^Jfs. 


The  lady  should  perform  her  first  lessons  with  a 
snaffle  bridle,  holding  the  reins  in  both  hands,  and 
without  a  stirrup.  When  she  has  acquired  some 
degree  of  practice  in  the  balance,  aids,  and  gene- 
ral government  of  the  horse,  she  may  use  a  bridle 
with  double  reins,  and  hold  them  in  the  left  hand, 
managing  them  as  we  have  directed  in  some  of  the 
preceding  pages. 

If  the  lady  be  but  in  her  noviciate  in  the  art, 
we  strongly  advise  her  not  to  place  too  much  reli- 
ance on  her  own  expertness,  or  to  attempt  too 
much  at  first ;  but  rather,  to  proceed  steadily,  and 
be  satisfied  with  a  gradual  improvement ;  as  it  is 
utterly  impossible  to  acquire  perfection  in  the 
nicer  operations  of  riding,  before  the  minor  diffi- 
culties are  overcome. 

The  lady,  in  all  cases,  should  recollect  that  her 
horse  requires  occasional  haltings  and  relaxation. 
The  time  occupied  in  each  lesson  should  be  in  pro- 
portion to  the  pace  and  animation  in  which  it  has 


Concluding  Remarks.         151 

been  performed.  If  the  exercise  be  varied  and 
highly  animated,  the  horse  should  rest  to  recruit 
himself;  at  the  expiration  of  twelve  or  fifteen  mi- 
nutes when  refreshed,  by  halting,  he  may  be  made 
to  go  through  another  of  the  same,  or  rather  less 
duration,  and  then  be  put  up  for  the  day.  It  would 
be  still  better  to  make  two  halts  in  the  same  space 
of  time  ; — the  exercise  taken  in  such  a  lesson  being 
equal  to  three  hours'  moderate  work.  When  the 
lessons  are  less  animated,  they  may  be  made  pro- 
portionally longer ;  but,  it  is  always  better,  if  the 
pupil  err  in  this  respect,  to  .do  so  on  the  side  of 
brevity,  than,  by  making  her  lessons  too  long,  to 
harass  her  horse. 


Webster  Family  Library  of  Veterinary  Medicine 
Cummings  School  of  Veterinary  Medicine  at 
Tufts  University 
200  Westboro  Road 


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